Indian police hand out thousands of fines to people not wearing masks after PM Modi scolded the country’s 1.3billion people for being ‘careless’ about social distancing

  • Police have reaped thousands of dollars in fines from people not wearing masks
  • The fines range from 200 rupees in Bangalore to 1,000 rupees in Mumbai
  • Delhi police have issued more than 42,000 fines with 792 on Sunday alone
  • Bangalore police collected mask fines worth more than £105,387 in one month

By Jemma Carr For Mailonline and Afp

Published: | Updated:

Police officers in India have issued thousands of fines to people not wearing masks as they roam the streets as officials fear the coronavirus peak is still weeks away.

Police across India have reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, which range from 200 rupees in Bangalore to 1,000 rupees in Mumbai.

Delhi police have issued more than 42,000 fines - 792 on Sunday alone - to people not wearing masks or flouting other social distancing rules.

Bangalore police chief Hemant Nimbalkar announced on Twitter last week that his force had collected mask fines worth more than £105,000 in one month.

It comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently chided the country's 1.3 billion people for being 'careless' about social distancing. 

Police officers in India have issued thousands of fines to people not wearing masks (a woman wearing a mask around her chin, pictured) as they roam the streets as officials fear the coronavirus peak is still weeks away
New Delhi shared-ride driver Munish Tiwari said he had received two tickets for 500-rupee ($6.50) fines since taxis got back on the road a month ago, which had wiped out a day's earnings

Police officers in India have issued thousands of fines to people not wearing masks (a woman wearing a mask around her chin, left) as they roam the streets as officials fear the coronavirus peak is still weeks away. Right: New Delhi shared-ride driver Munish Tiwari said he had received two tickets for 500-rupee ($6.50) fines since taxis got back on the road a month ago, which had wiped out a day's earnings

It comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently chided the country's 1.3 billion people for being 'careless' about social distancing

It comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently chided the country's 1.3 billion people for being 'careless' about social distancing

'We are not at all proud of this feat,' he said, appealing for greater respect for social distancing as cases surge in the southern city.

Many people just cannot get used to the accessory, which has come to symbolise the new normal.

New Delhi shared-ride driver Munish Tiwari said he had received two tickets for 500-rupee ($6.50) fines since taxis got back on the road a month ago, which had wiped out a day's earnings.

Police across India have reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. Pictured: A man wearing his mask on his chin
Fines range from 200 rupees in Bangalore to 1,000 rupees in Mumbai. Pictured: A man wearing his mask on his chin

Police across India have reaped hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, which range from 200 rupees in Bangalore to 1,000 rupees in Mumbai. Pictured: People wearing their masks on their chins

'It is just not comfortable and I cannot breathe when I have to wear it,' he said.

'I have to wear it when there are passengers, but as soon as the door closes and they are gone, normally I take it off. I am easy prey for the police.'

Offenders in cities across India tell similar stories to Tiwari's.

India has almost 880,000 virus cases and more than 23,000 dead, and experts say the peak is still weeks away.  

The northern Indian state of Bihar, which has a population around 125 million people, is set to go into a 15-day coronavirus lockdown to combat the disease.

 

Many people just cannot get used to the accessory, which has come to symbolise the new normal. Pictured: A man wearing his mask on his chin

Many people just cannot get used to the accessory, which has come to symbolise the new normal. Pictured: A man wearing his mask on his chin

'Bihar government has decided on a 15-day lockdown from July 16 to July 31. 

'All city municipalities, district headquarters, block headquarters will stay under lockdown. 

'The guidelines are being finalised,' Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted.

The announcement came a few hours before the southern city and IT hub Bangalore was due to go into a week-long lockdown. Other states and cities have also imposed restrictions as India's caseload nears one million. 

Masks hanging from people's ears - or not covering their nose - are a familiar sight on the streets. Many wear no mask at all.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently chided the country's 1.3 billion people for being 'careless' about social distancing.  Pictured: A man wearing a mask hanging from his face

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently chided the country's 1.3 billion people for being 'careless' about social distancing.  Pictured: A man wearing a mask hanging from his face

In Firozabad, in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, offenders escape a fine but have to attend a four-hour class on social distancing and write 500 times 'A mask has to be worn'.

But the message is still hard to get across.

Harish Kumar, an artist who sells religious souvenirs outside a Hyderabad temple, said that being overweight already made breathing difficult for him and wearing a mask exacerbated that.

On one Hyderabad street, teacher Sunitha Michael wore her mask clenched between her teeth. Her excuse was that she had just finished a phone conversation

 On one Hyderabad street, teacher Sunitha Michael wore her mask clenched between her teeth. Her excuse was that she had just finished a phone conversation

'When I am in my shop I take off the mask and when I go out I wear it,' he said.

On one Hyderabad street, teacher Sunitha Michael wore her mask clenched between her teeth. Her excuse was that she had just finished a phone conversation.

'Quite frankly, I hate having to wear a mask as it is exhausting, but I have to comply with the guidelines,' she said.

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