Blame it to helplessness or procrastinating attitude of District Administration and Raipur Police, local citizens in State capital seems to have scant respect for law or lockdown norms, as the city streets continue to buzz with unhindered movement of motorists and pedestrians amidst broad daylight.

It is pertinent here to recall that a seven-day lockdown from September 22 to 28 in the entire district was necessitated after raging spike of COVID-19 was reported during past fortnight, even as 12 out of 27 districts in the state also followed the suit by announcing 7 to 10 days shutdown in their respective districts.

The people of the city blatantly defying the restrictions imposed by the district administration in the wake of ongoing lockdown, apparently looked in no mood to stay indoors. And quite shockingly, both the district administration and local police, entrusted with the task of strictly enforcing the lockdown, were actually trying to get away with a real-time excuse that people were careless about their own safety. “There was not any scope of taking strictness any further to its threshold. At most, we can just urge the people to stay indoors or check into the necessity cause of their movement on the roads, including the reasons of attending their medical urgency or association with emergency services exempted from lockdown,” said an infuriated senior official of Raipur Police.

‘The Hitavada’ lensman Rupesh Yadav, during a day-long tour of the capital city spotted several lockdown violation zones wherein motorists and pedestrians were found moving unopposed and with free will right under the nose of policemen deployed at various thoroughfares. So much so that many policemen don’t even bother to stop or at least check the identity cards of individuals and motorists who are out on the streets with no purpose.

These blatant violations came just a day after Raipur District In-Charge Minister Ravindra Choubey took a comprehensive tour of the capital city to assess the real time situation of lockdown on Thursday morning. While Minister Choubey was all-gaga over the district administration and local police for enforcing the lockdown with their well-chalked preparations and resources, it seems the entire presentation to the minister was superficial since the real-time expose narrates a different tale to tell.

Meanwhile, sources categorically stated that the unabated sale of liquor, tobacco-based products, meat and other daily need items were going on in almost every location of the capital city, which is well within the reach of local police. To suffice the allegations, the local police acting upon a tip-off have busted cricket betting racket being operated from a moving car near VIP Chowk since the IPL 2020 in full swing. Similarly, several other betting rackets were busted while police continued to haul in illegal liquor from various pockets of the city. On September 25, Telibandha Police arrested a youth indulged in bootlegging.

“Sale of raw meat is also underway from several localities in the capital and people know how to access their way in and out to these places, but the local police seem to be caught unaware or deliberately not taking action for the reasons only known to them,” the sources maintained.

As many as 90 vehicles were seized for flouting the lockdown guidelines, said Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Satish Thakur.

“The lockdown has been enforced for the safety of the public and without any restriction also, people should have the sense of self-discipline as well as responsibility that in the time of pandemic they should not venture outside unnecessary. Lockdown in true sense could only be possible with public support. Police personnel are continuously taking action against lockdown violators but there is no cure to those who believe flouting of restrictions and jumping barricading as an achievement,” said Raipur Collector Dr S Bharathi Dasan.

“We are taking action against people unnecessarily loitering during the lockdown. Maximum people are venturing out in the name of hospitals and purchasing medicines with documents. Moreover, it has been found that some people are trying to unnecessarily move around with non-essential documents. Police personnel have been directed to take action against lockdown violators,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajay Yadav.

“In last three days, around 70 cases of lockdown violation were registered in the district. To ensure strict compliance of lockdown guidelines, the frequency of patrolling in the city will be increased and motorcycle patrolling will be carried out to cover interior areas in the city,” said Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Lakhan Patle.

Despite the administrative teams initiating penal actions against the violators of the lockdown consistently, people continue to violate the guidelines blatantly in Durg. Even though the authorities make efforts for effective lockdown imposition and take disciplinary actions for which deployment of police personnel are even ensured in all the major squares of the city, the violators can be still seen roaming without masks, also making mockery of the physical distancing by riding three on a motorcycle. Despite the repeated appeals and warnings, some people still do not hesitate in venturing out without masks even in times of such crisis, forcing one to think how civic sense can be inculcated in such law violating people.

It is worth mentioning that the teams from the district administration, Durg Municipal Corporation and the police department every time prior to imposition of the lockdown appeal the denizens to follow the preventive steps and guidelines to contain the spread of infectious corona virus. The police which inspect the vehicle on fixed points even seize the vehicle on occasions and so far several two wheelers have been seized for violations of the lockdown. Similarly, teams from the local civic body conduct inspection in the city and impose fine on those not wearing mask along with also appealing the people to abide by the norms.

During the lockdowns imposed from time to time so far, such teams proudly claims collecting fine to the tune of lakhs in an effort to civilize the people and making them law abiding but the larger effect of the penal actions among people still remains unseen. It seems like the actions by the administrative and police teams have got limited up to only collection of the penalty and a large section of people is yet to make realize the importance of taking the preventive steps of frequent hand wash, wearing masks and maintaining social/physical distancing. The authorities also need to reflect how long it can take to instill a feeling of discipline among such people in one of the most educated cities and that too for their own safety.