Despite two deadly waves of COVID-19, defying the mask rule is quite common in Gujarat, as figures would indicate. The police took in Rs 294 crore in fines from 41.60 lakh offenders failing to wear a mask between June 24, 2020 and December 2, 2021.
Mask offenders spent Rs 56 lakh per day in the COVID years, on an average – half the amount necessary to build a modern-day COVID hospital.
In the span of just a year between June 24, 2020 and June 23, 2021, Gujarat police obtained Rs 247 crore from 36.80 lakh offenders. The state police collected about Rs 47 crore in mask fines in the five months from June to November.
“We will continue the mask drive as soon as the state reveals plans to tackle the Omicron variant. We have fined 41.60 lakh people for not wearing masks in the last year,” said a senior police official.
In Gujarat, on an average, 8,000 offenders are fined for not wearing a mask. “People should understand that the mask rule is for their safety, instead of paying Rs 1,000 to the police for not wearing one,” said the official.
