New Delhi: In view of the upcoming festive season, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Delhi Police has taken several steps to manage crowd in high footfall markets of the national capital, officials said on Tuesday. Announcements on loudspeakers installed in various markets caution people to not lower guard in the fight against the virus while motorcycle and foot patrolling have been intensified to cover as much ground as possible. At Sadar Bazar, one of the most popular wholesale markets that sees very high footfalls during festive season, the visitors have been gradually increasing over the last few weeks, police said. The market housing 25,000 shops reopened on June 10 after staying shut due to COVID-19 lockdown Messages spreading awareness about COVID-19 are being played on audio devices installed in the markets. Motorcycle patrolling staff are also making the announcements, Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Anto Alphonse said. Posters have been put up and pamphlets are being distributed to the visitors asking them to remain vigilant and not get complacent as the fight against COVID-19 is still on, the DCP said. Regular foot patrolling is being done in all the crowded markets and violators are being prosecuted, the officer added. Meetings were being conducted with the Market Welfare Associations (MWAs) to take their assistance in managing the rush of visitors, police said. Similarly, meetings with civic agencies too were held for better coordination, they added. Meanwhile, pickets have been installed at the entry points of several markets including Kamla Nagar and Sadar Bazar, they said. Between October 1 to 15, a total of 2,581 challans were issued to people who were not wearing a mask, spitting or not maintaining social distancing, police said. Alphonse further said that there were 403 temples and 30 markets in the north district and the security audit of all them has been conducted. Gatherings were noticed in a one or two temples, however, suitable police staff has been deployed there to manage the crowd, the DCP said. Meanwhile, the number of visitors has also increased steadily in markets like Bhagirath Palace, Lajpat Rai Markets, Dariba Kalan, Nai Sarak, Kashmiri Gate among others, police said. Police said additional force is being deployed in the markets for crowd management while anti-terrorist measures are also being taken care of.

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