Gurdaspur cops up the ante against violators

Gurdaspur, March 25

Rakesh Singh, a government employee, was dressed-up as usual and ready to leave for his office. As he was driving his motorcycle to his workplace, he was signaled-down at a check post by the cops. He thought the police want to see his registration papers, hence he shoved them into the hands of a constable.

The cops, however, had other thoughts. He was asked to sit in a police vehicle and 10 minutes later, he found himself standing inside the Civil Hospital instead of his office.

The young man’s fault was that he was not wearing a mask. In these days of Covid, it is considered a cardinal sin. Two hours later, his Covid sample was taken and later he was dropped at the very spot from where he was picked up.

About 200 people like him are being taken to health centres for testing every day or are tested for Covid at the police check posts itself through rapid or RT-PCR procedures.

The drive to ensure residents follow Covid-appropriate behaviour was started by SSP Rajinder Singh Sohal before he was transferred yesterday. The gauntlet has now been picked up by his successor Dr Nanak Singh, an IPS officer, who is likely to be as strict as his predecessor was on Covid infringements.

The cops may be doing yeoman’s service to society by checking the spread of the virus. However, they could do better if they visit the RTA office and the District Administrative Complex (DAC), which houses top officials, including the DC. These two places, say doctors, are the worst offenders, as seldom does anybody wear masks. Officials here give two hoots to wearing masks.

Dr Vijay Kumar, officiating Civil Surgeon, waved the red-flag when he said that among people brought by the police for testing in the last 48 hours, a significant number had tested positive. “This is an alarming trend. It needs to be checked immediately. Otherwise, there could be virus-induced chaos all around us. We have now stationed several sample-collection teams at the check posts to help the police,” he said.

Yet another disturbing phenomenon witnessed in the city was that not many people are coming forward for inoculation claiming “they do not trust the vaccine.”

“This mistrust is because of widespread rumours about the efficacy of the vaccine,” a doctor said.

The police are making efforts to educate locals on the importance of getting vaccinated.

SSP Sohal said the drive to forcibly test people was reaping rich dividends. “On Day 1, we took nearly 250 people to the hospital. On the succeeding days, we saw a lot of people wearing masks. Earlier, these very people seldom adhered to Covid norms including those pertaining to social distancing. Even then, a lot needs to be done. Without doubt, maintaining a distance from others is the only way to maintain your equanimity and, of course, to avoid catching the virus,” he said.

Sohal said keeping in view the fresh spike in the number of cases and the upcoming festivals, including Holi, it is important to ensure compliance of guidelines and also strictly enforce Covid-appropriate behaviour.