The new BBMP rules come two months after the Union Health Ministry announced that it was not necessary to wear masks while driving alone in a car.
Bengaluru’s civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), issued new guidelines related to the use of masks amid the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday evening. As of Wednesday, it will be mandatory for all those who drive cars, even if they are alone and have the windows closed, wear masks. In September this year, the Union Ministry of Health announced that it was not necessary to wear masks while driving alone in a car.
BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad issued the order Tuesday. According to him, regardless of whether a person is alone in a car or has the windows open or closed, they should wear a face mask. The same applies to two-wheelers and also passengers.
In its order, the civic body states that the positivity rate for coronavirus infections in Bangalore has dropped to 9% in October, compared to 12.79% in September. The civic body said that to maintain the trend and keep the number of COVID-19 cases in the city low, it was necessary to strictly enforce COVID-19 regulations, such as wearing masks and maintaining physical distance.
In addition to sheriffs and traffic police personnel who are enforcing the COVID-19 guidelines, the BBMP has also formed committees at the district level to monitor and enforce these standards. The district committees will include a BBMP assistant engineer, a health inspector, a district marshal, and a police officer appointed by the Police Commissioner. These ward committees will be overseen by the divisional committees. There will be 198 ward committees, 27 division committees, and eight zone committees that will oversee the division committees.
A fine of 250 rupees will be imposed for violating rules such as not wearing masks or not maintaining physical distance.
