Travelling without mask on Mumbai trains? Pay Rs 200 as penalty or prepare to sweep roads

The Maharashtra administration has come out with fresh rules to deter those found violating COVID-19 health guidelines in public places. According to  Hindustan Times, from next week on, commuters travelling in Mumbai trains without a mask on will have to pay a Rs 200 fine. The Government of Maharashtra has already issued a notification empowering the Government Railway Police (GRP) to collect fines from passengers. Likewise, the same amount will be charged if people are spotted without proper masks in public places. Those who express their inability to pay the fine will have to clean the city’s roads and do other form of community service. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is already making violators perform community service in the form of sweeping roads if they refuse to pay Rs 200 as fine for not wearing masks in public places, according to civic officials. In view of the coronavirus pandemic, authorities have made wearing face masks mandatory in public to curb the spread of the infection. The K-West civic ward, which includes Andheri West, Juhu and Varsova, has already made several violators sweep roads for an hour to deter people from roaming around without a mask, Vishwas Mote, assistant municipal commissioner (K-West ward), told PTI. Free masks will also be given to violators and they will be educated about the threat of coronavirus by civic officials. With inputs from PTI