Over 1,600 vehicles fined for flouting Covid-19 curbs in Noida in a day

Seventeen people were arrested across Noida and Greater Noida on Sunday over alleged violation of the curbs imposed due to the Covid-19 outbreak, Gautam Buddh Nagar police said.

Also, challans were issued to owners of more than 1,600 vehicles while 10 vehicles were impounded for similar violations across the district, which has so far recorded 7,077 cases of the novel coronavirus including 43 deaths, according to official figures.

Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) Section 144, which bars assembly of more than four persons, is in force in Gautam Buddh Nagar in view of the pandemic. Security checks were also intensified in view of the lockdown-like curbs over the weekend that began Friday at 10 pm and will continue till Monday 5 am.

"Six FIRs were registered and 17 people arrested for violating the Covid-19 curbs. A total of 4,483 vehicles were checked across 200 barrier points in the district and challans issued to 1,641 of them while another 10 were impounded," the police said in a statement.

Altogether, ₹91,200 were collected in fines during the action, the police said.

The Noida-Delhi border, which was closed for normal public movement since the outbreak of the coronavirus in March, has been reopened since August 1, officials said.