Police seal busy roads and book violators, seize vehicles

Chennai

City roads turned into a fortress with cops sporting face shields, masks and gloves manning all the stretches. The arterial roads including Anna Salai, GST road and Poonamallee High Road appeared deserted after the morning hours, and officials also barricaded many flyovers.

There were drones fitted with high-definition cameras and speakers deployed at important junctions on Anna Salai, and Triplicane, Aminjikarai, Anna Nagar, Saidapet and Tambaram. They monitored the roads and transmitted live streams from places where crowds were spotted.

Motorists found wandering beyond the 2 km distance from their homes had their vehicles seized, forcing them to return home by foot. On Friday, police booked 2,436 cases for violating lockdown norms and seized 1,997 vehicles, including 1,883 bikes. They also booked 989 persons for stepping out without the masks.

The city police Commissioner and his team of officials inspected Anna Salai and Triplicane areas on Friday. The public cooperated well with the complete lockdown, the police commissioner said, but warned the people against stepping out every day to buy groceries. Instead, they could do purchases for a week. In the neighbouring three districts, more than 900 persons were booked for lockdown violations.