Over 1L challaned for mask violation in state

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 9

Over a month after Haryana made wearing of masks at public places compulsory, over one lakh challans have been issued in the state for violations.

While the Haryana Police had issued 77,084 challans till July 5, civic bodies had issued 15,309 and the Health Department over 5,000, though monitoring in rural areas seemed limited to certain districts and pockets.

According to information, Yamunanangar reported the maximum of 8,019 challans, while 7,011 had been issued in Bhiwani and 6,700 in Gurugram district.

A total of 5,032 challans had been issued in Narnaul and 5,322 in Jhajjar. The least number of 809 challans had been issued in Sirsa.

“Our main objective is that the public adheres to the government order. The challan for Rs 500 is merely a deterrent to violators against repeating the mistake,” said ADGP (Law and Order), Navdeep Singh Virk.

The 87 municipal bodies issued 12,548 challans in urban pockets and recovered Rs 37.52 lakh as fine. Sirsa’s council topped the chart by issuing 4,469 challans.

Others had issued less than 1,000 challans apiece while three committees — Kanina, Taraori and Bhuna — were yet to open their accounts. Sources maintained that there could be delayed reporting on the part of these committees, with challans not getting reflected in the data.

Ashok Meena, Chief Executive Officer, Aayushman Bharat, said the data of municipalities had been provided by the Urban Local Bodies Department. “The main focus is on ensuring that people wear masks and maintain social distancing,” he said.

With over 5,000 challans issued in the past month, Dr Suraj Bhan Kamboj, Director General, Health Services, said the low number was on account of the department juggling many duties. “The challaning bit is being done effectively by the police and local bodies while we are handling other aspects,” he said.

On the rural side, the Panchayat and Development Department had been entrusted the task of challaning violators. While some districts like Faridabad had issued 2,694 challans, others like Rohtak had issued only 16 so far.