Kakinada: Why maskless netas are not fined, ask people

Kakinada: Though Covid cases are increasing day bay day in the district, people are not taking precautions to keep the virus at bay.

Despite awareness, some people are neither wearing masks nor using sanitizers. They are also not maintaining social distance. It is observed that the political leaders and officials seem to be quite indifferent and have woefully failed to create awareness among the people regarding the surge of the second wave.

Psychologist APJ Vinu said that police are collecting fines from those who are not wearing masks. If leaders fail to follow the Covid -19 norms, how can they expect people to observe Covid -19 protocol. So far, the Panchayat and Municipal elections in the district have caused the spread of Covid-19 among the people. People are afraid of MPTC and ZPTC elections as there will be further spread of Covid. In the wake of the High Court stay on the MPTC, ZPTC elections on Tuesday, people heaved a sigh of relief and are free from tension.

People question why the police are not collecting fine from political leaders who do not follow the Covid -19 protocol. Medical and Health authorities are concentrating on administering vaccines but are not inclined to conduct Covid tests, people complain.

They said that the private hospitals are collecting Rs 3,000 to conduct the coronavirus test in the district. They are demanding that government hospitals as well as PHC and CHC should conduct covid-19 tests along with administering vaccines to the people.

District Medical and Health Officer KVS Gowreswar Rao told 'The Hans India' that 714 active cases were registered in the district. He said that 24 positive cases were registered on Tuesday. As many as 3.16 lakh people were vaccinated in the district.

He directed the private hospital managements to follow the guidelines issued by the government with regard to the fee collection on Covid-19 cases. He said if they violate rules, stringent action would be taken against them. He also advised the people to wear masks and use sanitizers and keep physical distance. He said that Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTPCR) tests are made free of cost for the Covid-19 victims.

District Superintendent of Police Adnan Nayeem Asmi conducted Mask Enforcement Drive and imposed fines on those who fail to wear the masks in the district. The district police imposed fines of Rs 200 to 250 each from 688 violators and collected Rs 60,250on Monday.

Asmi said that every day they are conducting the police drive for masks in the district. He said that he personally issued challans on the people who are roaming without wearing masks. He also provided the masks to the violators and created awareness on the importance of the Second wave of Covid -19. He said that they are conducting a special drive within all police station limits in the evening to create Covid awareness and impose fines. He said that the healthcare of everyone is in the hands of the individuals and suggested wearing masks and maintaining physical distance.