Use drones to monitor if people do not wear masks: Allahabad HC to Yogi govt

The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government to ensure strict monitoring, and compulsorily implement the rule of wearing face masks in the six districts most affected by the coronavirus infection in the state.

The High Court on Tuesday said that the crowded areas should be monitored in these districts 24 hours, seven days a week, with drone cameras.

A division bench of Justice Siddharth Verma and Justice Ajit Kumar, which is monitoring the government's preparedness to deal with the corona infection, said that a similar campaign should be conducted in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Kanpur, Prayagraj and Gautam Buddha Nagar that are most affected by the corona infections.

The court has directed to closely monitor the wearing of masks for at least the next 30 days. The order not to sell food and drinks in the open will remain in force for the next six weeks.

Prayagraj Senior Superintendent of Police Shrestha Tripathi, who appeared in the High Court, said that a team of four constables has been formed for continuous monitoring. The police will report to the police station in-charge every four hours. The court asked all the concerned officials to monitor the list of constables through the mobile phones.

The court also spoke to ICMR's Dr. Nivedita Gupta through video conferencing about the availability of the corona vaccine. The court was assured that the vaccine would be available in the near future.

The next date of hearing has been fixed for December 3.