Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Saturday was forced to withdraw his earlier decision to allow movement of two-wheelers and opening of the IT-BT offices with one-third of its workforce post April 20, amid criticism from health experts and citizens. The decision to ease lockdown restrictions is premature at this juncture, felt health experts.
Two-wheelers have now been barred and the IT-BT companies, except those involved in essential services, will continue to work from home till May 3, as per the new order from the Karnataka government.
Congress leaders, too, had taken a dig at the government for its “selective approach” in allowing only the IT-BT sector to resume its operations, while ignoring the needs of other sectors, small businesses and occupations.
KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar had taken the government to task for remaining mum over the loss of income and livelihoods of people in traditional occupations. “I am pained to see none in the government, be it the PM, CM or the ministers, have spoken a word about the plight of the unorganised sector. The community of barbers, flowers and vegetables vendors, priests, laundrymen, street vendors, roadside eateries among others are in distress. I urge the government to provide them Rs 10,000 each to survive this lockdown,” he said.
Meanwhile, the chief minister, who held a meeting of senior ministers to review the COVID-19 situation in Karnataka and steps to be taken after April 20, had announced that the movement of two wheelers (without a pillion) would be allowed after April 20. Cars with passes and not more than two passengers would be permitted on the road. No new passes would be issued.
The meeting had also decided to allow IT-BT offices to work with 33 per cent of their workforce, provided they travel by hired office buses and followed all social distancing norms and workplace safety measures.
The decisions were questioned by health experts who feared that two-wheelers on the roads would affect containment of the virus. Many people opposed the “preferential” treatment given to IT-BT sector.
Karnataka, with eight declared hotspots, and capital city Bengaluru, with its 30 containment zones, can ill afford any relaxation at the moment, was the popular opinion. The CM withdrew the earlier decision on relaxations.
Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister and IT-BT Minister Dr C.N. Ashwath Narayan had announced that all IT parks in the city would open after April 20, but with workforce not exceeding 50 per cent.
Narayan, also a medical doctor hinted that a total lockdown for a long period was not advisable considering the nature of the virus, which is here for the long haul.
“The incubation period of this virus is very challenging. So, we have to evolve a system to cope with it. The offices in the outskirts, outside the city limits will be allowed to function. It is not discrimination if we allow the IT-BT sector to open in the first phase. As the priority now is to ensure compliance of COVID guidelines like sanitising workplace, regular screening of employees and social distancing, this sector can be easily managed. However, we will devise ways to open up other sectors, too,” said Narayan, who also called for self-restraint rather than state-imposed restrictions.
The unleashing of two-wheelers on the roads would have been a logistical nightmare. The police department has already issued two lakh passes after rejecting 55.67 lakh applications.
Citing the example of the travel passes, Narayan said, “The logistics of providing the travel passes is getting cumbersome. The schools, colleges, entertainment hubs are shut down. There is no reason why people would loiter around. The pass system is not feasible for a long time as it requires huge manpower and resources to enforce it. So, it is ideal if people follow self-imposed lockdown and totally avoid unnecessary commuting.”
Meanwhile, the government has decided to appoint an incident commander to each containment zone assisted by the police and health officials, who will be responsible for containing crowd movement and providing basic amenities in these areas. Incident commander will have magisterial power. In the buffer zones (3 km radius), medical check-ups will be carried out.
Construction activities will be allowed where workers have the provision to stay at the construction sites.
No more new shops will be allowed to open. Malls, showrooms will remain closed, too.
While interstate and inter-district movement is prohibited, Ramanagar, Bengaluru urban and Bengaluru rural districts will be considered as one district only for movement of industrial workers.
