Even after the warning of the third COVID-19 wave, tourists continued to reach Lonavala amid relaxations in COVID-19 restrictions in Maharashtra.
In the photos and videos posted by ANI, many tourists were seen without masks.
Speaking to ANI, one of the tourists said, "The tourism sector should start re-opening in a regulated manner with COVID19 protocols. We have to learn to live with COVID19."
Recently, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar appealed to people who have taken both doses of coronavirus vaccines to continue adhering to COVID-19-appropriate behaviour and cautioned against crowding at tourist places.
The NCP leader said he has given instructions to the police to strictly implement coronavirus norms at tourist places, where people are thronging after relaxations in curbs, and take strong action against those flouting them.
A day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar asked authorities to take stringent action against people visiting monsoon tourist spots in Pune district on weekends defying COVID-19 norms, the rural police fined 424 revellers till Saturday evening and collected Rs 1,99,600 from them, a senior officer said.
"Despite COVID-19 restrictions on weekends, many people came to Lonavala which is one of the famous monsoon tourist spots. We have deployed personnel at various locations in Lonavala city and rural areas. Police penalised 100 revellers visiting Lonavala and collected a fine of Rs 47,000," Pune (rural) Superintendent of Police Abhinav Deshmukh told reporters.
According to Pune Rural police, they have also fined revellers visiting famous monsoon tourist spots like Sinhagad fort, Panshet dam, Bhor, Velha, Kamshet, and Junnar. Since morning police, penalized 424 revellers in the district and collected a fine of Rs 1,99, 600.
Meanwhile, Pune district reported 1,114 fresh coronavirus positive cases on Saturday, taking its tally to 10,62,995, while 14 more fatalities pushed the toll to 18,081, a health department official said.
(With inputs from agencies)