Police in several parts of North 24-Parganas hit the streets to enforce lockdown in the districts 95 specified containment zones, highest in the state, from early Friday morning.

The Bengal government on Tuesday had announced the imposition of the complete lockdown from Thursday evening following a continued spike in the number of Covid positive cases and related deaths in Calcutta and its adjacent districts.

To prevent people stepping out their homes and crowding roads in the containment zones, the police, particularly in Barasat and Basirhat subdivisions, had begun rigorous awareness initiative through the public address system before putting barricades in the specified zone. However, as people kept violating the norms even after 5pm, when the lockdown came into effect, the police began to act tough and the action continued on Friday.

During a surveillance aimed to enforce the lockdown, the police arrested 11 youths from Taki Road in Matia area under Basirhat sub-division for stepping out of their homes in the containment zones without any explainable reason.

Superintendent of Basirhat police district Kankar Prasad Barui said: “We have arrested 11 persons for flouting lockdown norms. We have enforced strict lockdown in 12 containment zones in Basirhat and made people aware that any violation in complying with the protocol as announced by the state government will be dealt with strongly...there will be no compromise.”

The spike in Covid positive cases in several areas of North 24-Parganas which include Ashoknagar, Barasat, Habra, Madhyamgram, Amdanga, Rajarhat, Basirhat-II block, Basirhat town, Hansnabad, Minakhan, South Dumdum Municipality, Bidhannagar Municipality, Titagarh, Khardah, Panihati, Barrackpore, Kamarhati, Baranagar, Bhatpara and Dumdum, where the state government identified 95 containment zones to observe stringent lockdown.

However, in Basirhat there was confusion among the people as many shops were shut outside the containment zone.

The police stopped many people in specified containment zones for moving without masks and made many of them do sit-ups on the road before sending them home. A branch of State Bank of India in Basirhat was sealed after two staff tested Covid positive on Friday morning.

In Barasat, containment zones spread over 10 civic wards have been barricaded. The municipal authorities have made arrangements to supply all sorts of daily needs at the doorsteps of the people living in the containment zones in the town, said Champak Das, an administrator of the Barasat civic board.

However, in Nadia, which has 25 containment zones, the police adopted a lackadaisical approach in most places. Later in the evening, superintendent of police Zafar Ajmal Kidwai visited the containment zones and advised stringent enforcement of the lockdown norms. A doctor attached to a Covid hospital in Nadia tested positive on Thursday night.