Seeing a casual attitude among a section of city residents who wilfully violet lockdown strictures, and to restrict unnecessary movement of people and vehicles in the state capital, the Raipur police on Saturday decided to enforce the lockdown more strictly after 4 pm every day, officials said.
Anybody found violating the lockdown, will have to face strict legal action, including pounding of vehicles, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Raipur Arif H Sheikh said.
A senior official in district administration who did not wish to be named, said although curfew has not been imposed in the city, the city authorities have decided to crack down on lockdown violators.
“Polite requests to the people for to return home was not working and hence the administration has decided to be stern,” the official said.
Meanwhile, during the evening hours of Saturday, the cops here chose to play it tough and took stern action against commuters venturing out in private vehicles without any valid reason.
City police on Friday, led by the SSP and accompanied by Raipur collector S Bharatidasan, carried out a flag march in different neighbourhoods across the state capital.
“There were constant reports of unnecessary travel and petty excuses given by people for coming out on to the streets in the last few days. Strict instructions have been given to the police officials to implement the lockdown in the state capital,” SSP Sheikh said.
Essential services will, however, not be affected by the action, but if people are found roaming around with valid reasons, then they will have to face the action, he added.
Notably, following the directives of the Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla to enforce lockdown strictly, Raipur Collector S Bharatidasan and Raipur SSP Arif H Sheikh carried out the flag march in densely populated neighbourhoods of the state capital.
Police have issued notices under the Motor Vehicle Act to people violating the lockdown in the last couple of days and have said that the vehicle registration of repeat offenders will be cancelled.
The police, however, have not seized the vehicles of lockdown violators as they fear that it would lead to further crowding at police stations. Instead, people driving around the city without any valid reasons, are being made to pay spot fines, police sources said.
However, the lockdown norms has been exempted for people employed in essential services, including medical labs, petrol pumps, private healthcare facilities, mobile tower technicians and they can use their identity cards while commuting to and from their work places.