CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai police barricaded several interior roads in the city following reports of motorcyclists and autorickshaw drivers using interior roads to stay off police radar during lockdown.
At least 20 barricades were put up in localities like Anna Nagar, Mylapore, Adyar, Villivakkam and Mandaveli on Sunday. “Many motorcyclists, out on the road for trivial reasons, got caught at these points. Nonetheless, the residents are finding new routes,” said a senior police officer.
On Saturday night, police registered 3,938 cases against those who failed to wear masks and collected 7.87 lakh in fine. Apart from seizing 173 vehicles , police also registered 301 cases against those not following social distancing norms and collected a sum of 1.50 lakh in fines. The seized vehicles include nine autorickshaws, three cars and 161 motorcycles. Meanwhile, the Chennai police set up 312 check-points in its jurisdiction to enforce night curfew and deployed 10,000 police personnel to various localities.
It may be recalled that the state government last week extended the existing Covid-19 curbs till January 31 in view of rising cases. The night curfew, which was imposed on January 6, will also continue till the end of the month.
