Superintendent of Police S. Senthil Kumar on Tuesday made a whirlwind inspection of the public places in Chittoor Municipal Corporation and surrounding mandals, enforcing the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown. Cases were booked against 112 violators under various sections of the IPC.
Following reports of non-cooperation from the public to the COVID-19 lockdown, the SP along with senior police officers manned both the arterial junctions and the narrow streets of Chittoor, urging the public to comply with the lockdown norms in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
Tension prevailed at Jyothi Talkies area in Tirupati when police resorted to a mild lathicharge to prevent the gathering of public on the roads, particularly youths who were triple-riding on motorcycles.
There were no signs of a lockdown till afternoon, when the police entered the scene and went about putting up barricades. From 2 p.m., all public places gradually became deserted.
Inspections were conducted at MSR Circle, Dargah junction, Santhapeta, Kongareddipalle, Church Street and other busy locations, apart from Gudipala and GD Nellore mandals.
Mr. Senthil Kumar said that residents have no option but to cooperate with the police and stay indoors till March 31. “Keeping in view the importance of essential commodities, we are allowing just one person from each family to fulfill their requirement within the stipulated time. Considering the public safety and guidelines of the lockdown exercise, the violators would be brought to book,” the SP said.
Police personnel at Satyavedu, Nagalapuram, Nagari, and Karveti Nagaram in the eastern mandals and at Bangarupalem, Palamaner and Kuppam circles had sealed the borders with Tamil Nadu and barred the entry and exit of the vehicles at the border checkposts, except for the essential commodities. The lockdown was complete on all national highways passing through the district. The border with Karnataka at Punganur, Palamaner, Shantipuram and B. Kothakota was also kept under strict surveillance.
Meanwhile, Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) chairman and MLA Chevireddi Bhaskar Reddy arranged distribution of about 3.4 lakh sanitiser bottles for the families of Chandragiri assembly constituency. The MLA, who formally launched the distribution at Tummalagunta village near Tirupati, said that the distribution would cover a population of 4.84 lakh consisting of 1.42 lakh households in the constituency. Chittoor MP N. Reddappa was also present. They urged the public to comply with the COVID-19 lockdown.
