GUWAHATI, June 28 - In a bid to ensure a strict lockdown in Guwahati, the city police will use five drones for surveillance. The fourteen-day lockdown in Kamrup (Metro) district begins tonight.
The drones will keep a close watch round-the-clock in the COVID-19 sensitive areas like Panbazar, Fancy Bazar, etc., of the city, so that there are no violations.
Police Commissioner Munna Prasad Gupta said that along with the drones, police forces will keep round-the-clock surveillance in every location of the city.
�Already we have made public announcements to make the people aware about the lockdown. This time there will be no compromise. Any violation of the lockdown will attract legal action as per the Disaster Management Act and IPC,� Gupta said.
Gupta said that for the lockdown, a special strategy has been formulated for which the police commissionerate will also engage additional forces.
Sources said the State government has directed both district and police administration of Guwahati to strictly implement the lockdown norms and any negligence of the same will attract immediate punishment to the enforcers as well.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Mayank Kumar Jha said that traffic personnel will be in duty for 24 hours at every point connecting bye-lanes with main roads.
Police will only allow persons to move in the city in case of medical emergency or those who have already booked flight or train tickets. The lockdown also exempted media persons and newspaper distribution activities.
During the lockdown hours, which will last for 14 days, the health department is planning to collect swabs from as many people as possible in the city.
Already the department has set up testing and counselling centres in every ward of the city where the health workers have been collecting an average of 500 samples each day.
Very soon rapid testing facilities will be available in these centres too. A senior health official said that anyone can come for COVID-19 test to a nearby centre during the lockdown days.
