Kalahandi police counsels lockdown violators

Bhubaneswar: Lockdown violators in Kalahandi district are not just being penalized or booked for roaming unnecessarily in motorcycles or for not wearing masks but are also being counselled by the cops before being punished since the last two days.
“We ensure that the violators are taught and counselled about the lockdown norms. Our personnel are counselling them on the necessity of staying home, maintaining social distancing and wearing masks,” Kalahandi superintendent of police Battula Gangadhar said.
Currently, Kalahandi district has no active Covid-19 positive cases.Two persons, who were recently tested positive for novel coronavirus in the district, have recovered.
Police said the purpose of counselling is not to harass or punish anyone. While police in other districts are registering cases, imposing fine or seizing vehicles of lockdown violators before letting them off, the offenders in Kalahandi are being taken to a spacious place to wait and attend the counselling by police.
The violators take lessons from the police counsellors for about 15 minutes and return home. “We ensure that the social distance is maintained among violators in the teaching session. Our personnel are sensitizing violators about the safety of their own and family members. The violators are being made aware of the government’s guidelines, regulations and penal provisions,” Gangadhar said.
Police sources said at least 221 FIRs related to violation of lockdown norms were registered in Kalahandi district in the last one month. Around 326 persons were either booked or arrested and 93 vehicles seized during the period.
The Kalahandi district administration on Friday appealed to people and shopkeepers to maintain a diary of persons they come in contact with every day so that the government can quickly conduct contact tracing in case of detection of Covid-19 cases in the district.
It may not be possible for people to remember names of persons they come in contact every day. They should write down the names in a diary. “Shopkeepers too should keep details of their customers and their phone numbers,” Kalahandi district collector Gavali Parag Harshad said.