• People continue to flood markets and public places

Mysore/Mysuru: The mandatory COVID-19 protocols are going for a toss every day in Mysuru despite lockdown-like measures, causing concern. 

These crowds, with barely any mask and no social distancing can prove to be super-spreaders. In fact, crowds, in their enthusiasm to purchase essentials, are tending to forget that the virus is lurking amidst them. 

Incidentally, the Supreme Court yesterday asked States to ban super-spreader events involving large crowds to check the spread of COVID. The Court asked the Centre and States to ensure protocols are followed even in small markets and shops.  

Ironically, the Sub-Registrar’s offices — a Government set up — in Mysuru might turn out to be a COVID hotspot as on an average, over 7,000 people visit the offices and people have not taken the Government advisory seriously and continue to visit the offices for sundry non-essential works. Here too, COVID protocols are given a go-by under the very nose of senior officers who are supposed to enforce rules. 

At all streets of Mysuru, people are found moving unnecessarily even after the daily curfew is implemented after the six-hour purchase window from 6 am to 12 noon. Though the number of positive cases and casualties are increasing by the day, Mysureans are moving around as if everything is normal. For the convenience of general public, Government has allowed opening of grocery stores and milk booths. But in the name of purchasing essential items, people are often coming out of houses and moving around needlessly.

Most of the people were seen driving on the streets by pasting printed paper sheets such as ‘On Emergency Duty’, ‘ Medical Emergency’, ‘Essential Work’ and the likes on the windshields of their vehicles, especially cars. The metal barricades put on the main roads and important circles are of no use as they cannot restrict unnecessary movement of people. People are usually seen in Central Business District and wholesale vegetable markets without following safety protocols.

No protocols at Sub-Registrar offices

Over 7,000 people visit the Sub-Registrar Offices in Mysuru every day for registration and sale of properties, marriage registrations and other related works. There are 14 Sub-Registrar Offices in the district, including five in city. 

The five Sub-Registrar Offices in the city are at — Mysuru East (Dr. Rajkumar Road), Mysuru West (near Vijayanagar Water Tank), Mysuru North (Mini Vidhana Soudha), Mysuru South (Ramakrishnanagar) and MUDA Office. There are nine offices in the district — T. Narasipur, Bannur, Nanjangud, K.R. Nagar, Mirle, Periyapatna, Bettadapura, Hunsur and H.D. Kote.

At present, on an average, 30 to 40 property registrations are being carried out in each of these offices every day and the numbers have not come down even during the on-going COVID Curfew. For each property registration, a minimum of 10 to 15 members would crowd the counters and there is no semblance of social distancing even inside sections of the offices. 

It is mandatory for buyers, sellers and the signing witnesses to wear face masks while entering the office. Besides, everyone entering the office will have to undergo thermal screening. But none of these precautionary measures are followed at any office. 

Both buyers and sellers have to remove their masks while taking photographs and provide their thumb impression — particularly during property registrations — and this would certainly increase the risk of  transmitting infection.

At present, negative RT-PCR report is not mandatory for persons visiting these offices. Even if an employee gets infected, the office would be sealed down for just one day. According to guidelines issued by the Government, the office should be sanitised and all activities should resume from the next day. This is not followed. According to reports, eight employees of Mysuru (North) Sub-Registrar’s Office located near Mini Vidhana Soudha have already tested positive for COVID-19.