Bhayandar: Wearing a mask, not to spit on roads and maintaining physical distance in public and at workplaces are some of the norms which need to be followed religiously in order to minimize and contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus. However, repeated appeals and warnings have failed to drill sense in the minds of some people, prompting the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) chief Dr. Vijay Rathod to invoke the disaster management act and the stringent epidemic diseases act in addition to the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code by chalking out stringent punishments and hefty monetary fines on litter mongers and those found to be roaming in public places without wearing face masks.
As per orders promulgated on Monday by the municipal commissioner, a person caught spitting in a public place for the first time will be fined Rs 1,000 and Rs 2,000 caught the next time. Similarly, anybody caught without a face mask in public will be slapped with a fine of Rs 500 for the first time and double the amount for the second time.
Shopkeepers will also attract a fine of Rs 2,000 if they were found defying physical distancing norms for the first time and double the amount if caught for the second time.
As per orders, business establishments have to ensure that customers queuing up to buy essential items stand within circles marked on the ground for maintaining physical distance. The Thane (rural) police have already taken action violators against the under section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) of the IPC, however, the fresh notification will add more teeth to the police action.