Coimbatore: 'Yama' creates Covid awareness among busy Deepavali shoppers at Town Hall; Commissioner appeals to public to be extra vigilant
Coimbatore: Fearing a possible surge in Covid-19 cases due to the upcoming festive season, the City Corporation has come up with a novel initiative to remind people of the seriousness of the pandemic situation, during festive shopping.
In an inspection held at Town hall on Sunday evening, Corporation Commissioner and Special Officer, Kumaravel Pandian inspected few shops and interacted with the public. He advised them to wear masks and maintain social distancing, at all times. He also warned few shop owners for not adhering to social distancing norms and allowing more people inside the shops.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner also flagged off the Covid awareness vehicleto educate the public about the impact of novel Coronavirus using men dressed in the attire of Yama Dharma Raja, Chitra Gupta and killer Coronavirus.
Dressed as Yama and Chitra Gupta, the men created awareness amid busy shoppers at Town hall area. "Don't neglect Covid norms and fall prey to death" , the man dressed as lord of death, Yama told the public. The novel idea by the Corporation garnered the attention of the shoppers.
Addressing the media, Corporation Commissioner, Kumaravel Pandianasserted that the concerted efforts of the Tamil Nadu government, District Administration and the City Corporation has attributed to the decline in Covid cases in Coimbatore, recently. He said that lethargic attitude by the people and shopkeepers will pave way for a second wave.
Special teams at all five zones have been formed to monitor shops that flout social distancing norms. Initially, fines will be imposed on such shops and further violation, will lead to sealing of the shops, he warned.
With festive season nearing, all shopping hubs are crowded with people. In a bid to create awareness among people on the need to adhere to Covid norms, the City Corporation has come up with a novel idea of using men dressed as Yama to educate people and remind them of the seriousness of the disease, the Commissioner told.
The Commissioner also inspected few shops in the Town Hall area which wereover crowded with shoppers. He immediately ordered the shop keepers to evacuate the crowd and warned them ofconsequences.
Two major shops Ganapathy silks and Saravana stores in Town Hall were fined Rs. 2 lakh and Rs 1 lakh respectively for blatantly defying Covid rules, thereby paving way for a possible disease outbreak.
The Commissioner appealed to the public to be extra vigilant of the ongoing pandemic situation, while they out for festive shopping and co-operate with the officials to control the spread of Covid.