City Buzz: COVID-control in Mumbai, Bhopal | Mask rules flouted in Hyderabad and Ludhiana | Nagpur police crack down on illegal silencers… and more

Cities are struggling to implement norms on masks and social distancing. Catch updates on this and other key urban highlights from the week that passed.

People in Hyderabad flout mask rules, complains GHMC

Citizens of Hyderabad have complained against those who are openly flouting norms regarding wear of masks in public places. At several locations, it was observed that people were not wearing masks at all. It was also found that people having masks were not using it properly. Residents from Gachibowli, Sri Ram Nagar (Kondapur), MLA Colony and Banjara have reached out to the officials of GHMC for taking action against those who are not obeying the rule.

The civic agencies have urged people to cooperate with the authorities. The police have also been penalizing people for flouting the rules.

Source: The Times of India

Nagpur Traffic police cracks down on noise making two-wheelers

Two-wheeler drivers in Nagpur who have modified their vehicles to amplify the noise they create are facing heavy backlash from Nagpur Traffic Police. The police instead of fining the riders is now replacing such noise-making silencers with original and lawful ones. Earlier, police used to fine Rs 1000 for creating noise, but now they are having these silencers replaced by mechanics with the costs being borne by the rider only.

Police officials say that the act of making any change to the original vehicle without the permission of authorities is illegal. Also, the sound of firecrackers created by some of these silencers, is an act of nuisance for fellow travelers on the road and senior citizens. It amounts to a crime under the Motor Vehicles Rules.

Each zone has been directed to seize such vehicles. The drive was initiated on 18 June and police ended up detaining 46 motor bikes that day. On June 19th alone, 87 bullet motor bikes were detained.

Source: The Times of India

Bhopal Municipal Corporation to adopt ward wise approach to contain COVID-19

After a meeting with top AIIMS official, the Bhopal district administration has decided to adopt a strategy focusing on ward wise management of the pandemic.

Out of total 85 wards in the city, eight wards have more than 20 active cases. There are 12 wards with more than ten active cases at the moment. As per an internal assessment by the Health Department, one unchecked infected person can go on to infect at least ten more persons.

So far, Bhopal and Indore stand as two most infected cities in the state of Madhya Pradesh, but the state machinery is happy that they haven’t reached the state of cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

Source: The Times of India

Ludhiana collects Rs 40 lakh in fines for public spitting and non-usage of masks

More than Rs 2 lakh for open spitting, more than Rs 37 lakh for not wearing masks and around Rs 1000 for violating home quarantine have been collected by the Ludhiana police from the citizens for the abovementioned violations of rule. In addition, penalties of more than Rs 20000 have been collected from residents for violating social distancing norms in the city. The police authorities also revealed that most of the violators belonged to the age group of 18 to 40 years.

Source: Hindustan Times

Some parts of Mumbai might witness total lockdown

Police authorities in North Mumbai have enforced a total lockdown in order to contain the spread of the infection. BMC has also proposed the same for some other parts of the city like Borivli, Dahisar and Kandivli. The municipal authority has thought of implementing a localized version of the lockdown in the wards of the above-mentioned locations.

The police authorities have reviewed the preparations along with BMC. If such lockdown is implemented, essential shops too will be closed in the locality.

Source: The Times of India

KMC invites global tender for water plant at Dhapa

A water plant at a cost of Rs 130 crore has been proposed by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) at Jaihind Water Works at Dhapa. The plant is expected to solve the water crisis in the regions neighbouring the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. The plant is also expected to give 20 million gallons of filtered water every day.

Presently, the Jaihind Water Works produces 30 million gallons of filtered water every day. Residents living in the areas near the bypass still depend largely on groundwater extraction for their purposes.

According to the officials of KMC, it will take at least two years for the plant to be operational.

Source: The Times of India

Compiled by Rishabh Shrivastava

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