Covid cases in the city are rising and yet a section of people on its streets still prefer to be without the first line of defence — a mask.
Metro walked around the city and found many still without a face cover.
Some answered and admitted to their mistake but quite a number chose to walk away without caring to mask up.
Vignettes from the city on Friday:
Dalhousie
Busy on his phone, a man had stopped to get his shoes polished. Neither the man polishing the shoe nor his customer had a mask on.
When the photographer of this newspaper asked the man why he was not wearing a mask, he apologised.
“Sorry, I should have kept the mask on. Actually, my glasses get hazy and so I removed it. But you are right,” he said and put back his mask.
Esplanade
Up and down the street a man was busy speaking on the phone. The mask was settled on his chin. “I have a mask. But the person on the other end of the line cannot hear me clearly. So, I have pulled it down,” he said.
Lake Market
Outside Lake Mall Metro spotted a man with a mask on his chin.
The photographer observed him for a couple of minutes before approaching him. The man sounded annoyed at being asked but nonetheless responded. “I have just removed it. I am waiting for my car,” he said.
Maidan
A girl had two masks on and the boy sitting beside her was without one.
“I am here because I wanted to breathe in fresh air. We don’t get fresh air because we are constantly wearing masks,” said the boy from Sodepur.
“There are not many people around, so I removed the mask,” he said with a surgical mask in his hand.
New Market
In a crowded area a woman busy shopping. Her mask was resting on her chin.
The photographer noticed her for at least 15 minutes. “I had worn it. I just pulled it down for sometime,” she said before moving in a different
direction.
Another woman accompanying her had a mask on.
Shyambazar
A man and a woman were spotted without masks near Shyambazar crossing. They were walking along several other commuters.
“Are you from police? Why are you are asking us?” said the man when the photographer approached them.
When the photographer said he works for a newspaper the man said: “We are carrying masks.”
SN Banerjee Road
A woman was shopping at Taltala market without a mask. Several stall owners at the market, too, were without masks. The woman walked away when this newspaper approached her.
Chowringhee
A woman without a mask sitting alone waiting for a bus on Chowringhee Road said: “I am alone... nobody is around me.”
Her mask was hanging on her chin while a few people walked past her.
Victoria Memorial
A group of people were seen near Victoria Memorial. Among them was a woman with a child. The child was wearing a mask properly but the woman’s mask rested on her chin.
The photographer signalled the woman as to where her mask was. The woman saw but did not respond and walked away.
Outside Victoria Memorial, a man was looking at cards at a stall.
Neither the man or the card seller had a mask on. “Mask hai (I have a mask),” said the man, when asked.
Free School Street
Three people were spotted without masks.Two of them, who were walking past a shop, did not care to reply when asked why they were not wearing a face cover.
Theatre Road
Two girls were walking down the road, one without a mask.
When the photographer shouted out to her, she just walked away. Not caring to answer or put on a mask.