The high court has directed Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to submit a statement by Thursday, setting out steps it proposes to take against people walking or standing in public places without wearing masks.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka was hearing a PIL filed by Letzkit Foundation, a Bengaluru based NGO, which had sought strict enforcement of SOP norms.
The bench said BBMP must take the issue more seriously since Bengaluru Urban district had recorded an average 4,000 Covid-19 positive cases over the past 10 days and Karnataka with a daily average of 10,000 cases has risen to second position among states vis-a-vis Covid cases.
The Chief Justice pointed out that no thermal screening or checks are being conducted in Cubbon Park and added that it can be safely presumed that the same situation prevails in parks across the city.
The court recalled that on the last occasion, it had recorded a finding that prompt action was not taken against persons who were not following the elementary rule of wearing masks at public places. This was after BBMP said that in August, 18,796 persons were penalised for not wearing masks.
Meanwhile, the court has directed both state and central governments to submit compliance regarding directions issued on September 18. While the state was told to issue directions to authorised officers to make frequent surprise visits to popular places of religion to ascertain whether rules are being followed, the central government was told to clarify its position regarding standard operating procedures (SOP).
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