Betul: On Sunday morning, the roads of Betul witnessed a strange sight. A group of bike-borne teens, who were not wearing masks, stopped by the Madhya Pradesh police were not made to do sit-ups or asked to pay penalty for violating COVID-19 protocols. Instead, they were handed leaf masks by the cops. Not only this, but the young boys were also made to take an oath that they will not step out of their house without wearing masks.
Madhya Pradesh police have initiated an 'N-188 masks' campaign to raise awareness about the significance of wearing masks during COVID times. The 'Blue Gang Cell' has come forward to do their bit to help the society during difficult times.
Every day, at Betul police station, hundreds of police officers sit at public facilitation desk and can be seen indulging in non-policing acts of sewing masks using palash leaves, strings and bamboo twigs. These masks are given to those people who either can't afford it or are seen without one. The masks have been named as 'N-188 masks'. Here, letter N stands for Natural and 188 is for Indian Penal Code (IPC) section which states that strict action must be taken against those who do not follow rules or is indulged in violation of the laws.
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Describing this campaign, DSP Santosh Patel told ETV Bharat, This is an initiative taken by them against those who do not take precautions against Corona seriously. "We intentionally stop people who do not wear masks are they are given N-188 masks. They are also given strict warning that next time, they should be seen in masks. This action is seen as a symbolic punishment to those who go out without masks. This is an attempt to make people remember that now we have to live with corona and wearing masks is a must. In a few cases, we also take challans from few violators", he said.
Patel said that the private school children have also participated in this campaign by making a masked man, which has been installed in the Kashmira Chowk. This masked man has also been made to wear a natural mask to convey the message of wearing a mask to the common people.
More than 1800 people are battling against coronavirus in Betul, while so far 44 patients have already lost their lives due to the coronavirus in the district. In such a situation, this initiative by the district administration to make people aware of wearing masks is winning hearts.
