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MANGALURU: The Mangaluru city police have seized nearly 68 vehicles, including 64 two-wheelers, for violating the night curfew imposed by the government on Saturday.

The police had set up 42 checkpoints across the city, and motorists were stopped at prominent junctions, and allowed to go only after producing valid documents after 10 pm. The clamping of night curfew in the city witnessed traffic snarls at many places, and commotion prevailed at a few places, when people were not allowed to move after 10pm.

While many questioned the police for not allowing them to return to their homes, those working on night shifts expressed their anger, when they were stopped even after showing their identity cards.

DYFI state president Muneer Katipalla criticised the police for allegedly troubling shopkeepers who were returning home after shutting down their shops. “Curfew is not applied to places where thousands gather for festivals. Those shopkeepers who were returning home after closing their shops, were stopped on the road,” Muneer lamented.

Former minister B Ramanath Rai too expressed disapproval over police blocking the vehicles, by placing barricades at Padil on the outskirts of Mangaluru.

Noticing traffic congestion on the road, due to the night curfew enforced by police, Rai alighted from his car and urged the police to remove the barricades, to facilitate easy movement of vehicles.

City police commissioner N Shashi Kumar said that some inconvenience will be experienced by residents on the first day. “I have seen a few instances, where the public have also been behaving objectionably,” he said.

60 Home Guards deputed: Based on the request of the Dakshina Kannada district administration, the state government has deputed 60 Home Guards to play the role of marshals in Mangaluru city, to enforce Covid-19 regulations. The Home Guards will be helping the police to ensure people wear masks, maintain social distancing and prevent unnecessary travel in the city.

The government has also deputed 10 Home Guards each to Ullal and Puttur city municipalities, five each to town municipalities of Bantwal, Moodbidri, Someshwara and town panchayats of Kotekar, Mulki , Belthangady, Vitla, Sullia and Kadaba.