Odisha bans spitting in public places
Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Friday banned spitting in public places. While a fine of Rs 200 will be imposed on the first three violations, the amount will go up to Rs 500 after that, chief secretary Asit Tripathy said.
The Odisha Covid-19 Regulations-2020 framed under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, has been modified making spitting a cognizable and compoundable offence, the top bureaucrat said. The fine can be imposed by block extension officers, assistant subinspectors of police, municipal ward and higher rank officers.
“Apart from being an important step to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, avoiding spitting in public places will help check the spread of several other diseases. People should cooperate with the government for their own good and in the larger public interest,” the chief secretary said. “It will help us become cleaner and safer. A provision in law needs to be supported by community action and greater awareness,” he added.
A notification issued by the health department said the amendment comes into immediate effect. This is the second time the regulation notified on March 13 has been amended. Earlier, the regulation was changed to make wearing of masks mandatory from April 9.
Government insiders said the decision was taken as per the Centre’s advisory. Two districts in Odisha — Ganjam and Bhadrak — have already made spitting in public places an offence. On March 14, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation had announced to impose a fine of Rs 500 on any of its employees caught spitting in public places.
Earlier on March 13, chief minister Naveen Patnaik had said Covid-19 is an opportunity to quit spitting paan in public, a widely prevalent practise in Odisha. The same day Odisha had declared Covid-19 as a disaster and implemented the Covid regulations under the Epidemic Diseases Act.
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