Visakhapatnam traffic police coming down hard on curfew violators in the city

It was a surprising scene in Vizag for many individuals who, on Tuesday night, witnessing police teams stopping vehicles at major areas in the city. From 7 pm, the city traffic police teams have taken up a special drive, imposing fines on those who have been wandering in the city violating Covid-19 norms. For about 30 minutes, vehicles were stopped putting barricades and individuals were asked whether they had a valid reason to move out. A total of 42 curfew violators were penalised by Visakhapatnam police and had to pay fines for violating norms on Tuesday.

Social media has been full of videos going viral of many vehicles stopped by the city police and announcements on the roads by police, advising citizens not to move out unless it’s an emergency. Visakhapatnam Police Commissioner Manish Kumar Sinha informed that from Tuesday, a special drive will be taken by the city police teams from 7-9 pm, imposing strict fines on curfew violators. Not just the individuals wandering without any E-pass or a reason, but food deliveries boys who are found delivering food after 11.30 pm were stopped and imposed fines.

Ever since the lockdown has begun in Visakhapatnam, the city police have been in full swing, setting up barricades at major junctions including Siripuram, Beach Road, Dabagadens, NAD with police stopping vehicles moving out after 12 noon. It is observed that there has been a decline in new Covid-19 cases in the city, however, the active number of cases is high. Despite the lockdown in the city, police have observed many individuals wandering out without any E-pass, especially taking alternative routes to escape from the police. In fact, many have been found moving out during the night when they assume to face no police checks. To control such movement, police have also been patrolling with police rakshak and crime vehicles after 10 pm.