Fines were being asked if citizens wished to blow their nose or wipe the Mumbai humidity off their lips. Or if a runner stopped and breathed heavily for some time. No leeway, or warnings, were granted to anyone, though the marshals themselves were touching their masks, or taking breathers.I informed the Marine Drive police about these actions, and to my surprise, they took good interest in the issue. They informed me, eventually, that there have been several phone complaints, particularly against the behaviour of the BMC marshals. However, few citizens bothered to come to the station and inform.I learned that some of the marshals are abusive, and some women marshals deal roughly with male citizens – through words and actions, often standing right up to them with the idea that if the man pushes them, they can complain about harassment.I saw this in action.At a busy road in Andheri, two women marshals stopped a rickshaw and demanded fine from a man. The man looked pitifully shaken as one of the women climbed into the rickshaw and sat next to the driver. “Open your wallet or I will drag you away”.I was in another rickshaw, close by. I objected to this behaviour and called out to the man – don’t feel bullied.Hearing this, the second woman marshal walked up to me and confirmed through her words, that she was berating that man. I had to tick her off as she began her tirade of vulgar verbal diarrhoea.“Many of the fine collectors are workers from the Solid Waste Management (SWM) department – they must be the abusive ones”, said a BMC officer, pointing out that these workers are among the ‘illiterate, slum-dwellers’.I asked different policemen about this.“These workers have tasted power for the first time, and they can’t handle it. In the name of public safety, they yell at and insult people”, said one policeman, admitting that the police does not wear their masks diligently, and are not fined by the marshals.“It’s seemingly about power, not public concern”, said a constable after claiming that the marshals are given ‘money goals’ – a minimum figure of fine that they must collect daily.This ‘money goal’, if in existence, has perhaps led to some bizarre practises in the name of Covid protocols. Here are some of them -1. Only the passengers seated in Autorickshaws are fined by the BMC marshals for the mask – the drivers are not fined. “We are poor and it is a hassle to take us to the station. So we are mostly ignored”, said a rickshaw driver.2. The rickshaw drivers are, instead, fined by the police, and escape with smaller amounts of fine.3. Policemen are not known to be fined for wearing the mask improperly.4. If you step inside a restaurant, you are not compelled to wear the mask even at rushed hours. But once you step out on an empty road, the marshal can fine you.
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