COVID-19: Siliguri admin making offenders wait for 2 hours as 'soft punishment' for not wearing masks

If anyone in Siliguri found without masks in public places then he or she will be made to wait for at least two hours by the police as "soft punishment".

In order to ensure people use masks when going out in the view of the coronavirus outbreak, the health department has directed the Siliguri Metropolitan Police to enforce "soft punishment" for the offenders.

The officer on special duty of health and family welfare department, North Bengal Dr Susanta Kumar Roy said they had advised the police to make the offenders wait for two hours as part of the "soft punishment".

"If anyone goes outside without masks, there is a fine as per the law. But in some cases, people don't have money, so they need to just sit for two-three hours as soft punishment," he told .

The police have already launched a crackdown in Siliguri against those who are not using masks.

In the view of rising COVID-19 cases in Siliguri, the administration has enforced a complete lockdown in nine wards under the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) areas fall in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts.

According to the Department of Health & Family Welfare, a total of 19 new cases are recorded in Darjeeling district which touches 242 and the 12 cases of deaths.

( With inputs from ANI )