BMC to deploy more marshals

MUMBAI: Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to increase its deployment of marshals across all 24 administrative wards in the city from the current 700 to an unspecified number to control crowds as well as monitor mask violations in public places.

A senior official said a majority of these marshals will be deployed at beaches and prominent promenades in Mumbai on December 31 and January 1.

According to data, BMC booked 15,144 people on December 25 and 26 for not wearing masks at public places, and collected ₹30.28 lakh in fines. The most number of violators (2,429) were fined in the A ward that includes the Marine Drive promenade, followed by 670 violators at H/West ward that covers the Bandra area.

Dr Sangeeta Hasnale, deputy municipal commissioner, solid waste management (SWM) department, said, “We studied the footfalls patterns in public places during the Christmas weekend, and we will deploy more marshals in such areas. These include city beaches and promenades where we see heavy human traffic during the festive holidays.” The SWM department is responsible for appointing marshals and penalising people for not covering their faces.

A civic official said most of the people fined during the festive weekend were either revellers or tourists in Bandra, Marine Drive and Girgaon Chowpatty. The official said that marshals will be allotted shifts for this weekend so that they can work at night as well. He said, “On the night of December 31, a lot of people gather at beaches and promenades. Even though there are some restrictions and celebrations are banned, we don’t want to risk anything. Besides beaches and open spaces, we will also deploy marshals in areas with bars and restaurants. We have fined a significant number of people at pubs for not covering their faces.”

Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner, BMC, said “A ward is a business district where the floating population is more than the actual population. The high number of violators over there clearly shows that those who were fined on Christmas weekend were not regular visitors as all the offices and other commercial establishments remain closed during weekends.”

He said ward officials have been instructed to remain vigilant and take necessary action whenever there is any breach of conduct. “We have instructed all the 24 ward officers to ensure micro-level planning,” he said, after a review meeting with the municipal commissioner on Monday.

At the meeting, Iqbal Singh Chahal, municipal commissioner said, “We have only restricted mass gatherings at public places and gardens between 9pm and 6am. Besides this, everything is operating normally. Our only request is that all the local people including the restaurant associations should not flout rules and allow unnecessary crowd within their premises,” said Chahal.