Karnataka Government Likely to Shut Transport Services for 1 month?

The 21-day lockdown period is coming to end on the 14^th of April 2020. As per the sources of the Karnataka Government, it seems that the government might shut down the transport services in the city and across the state for a span of 1 month.

Amid a lot of speculation about the extension of lockdown, there has been concern over the outbreak as the numbers refuse to slow down. Despite the lockdown, the city of Bengaluru witnessed mobility in huge numbers. To hinder the mobility of people once the lockdown is lifted, the state is likely to continue to shut transport services for another month.

Private Cab Services Likely to Remain Suspended

The transport services like KSRTC, BMTC and Namma metro rail network may continue to remain closed. The transport ban, if imposed, May likely to include auto-rickshaws, Ola, and Uber cab services. The government will take a decision after consulting medical experts and analyzing the outbreak situation in the state.

On 7^th April, the state lifted the ban on the bakeries as it allowed condiments and bakery shops to function provided they adhere to the social distancing protocol and the lockdown guidelines. Karnataka reported 12 new cases in the state today.

Karnataka was the first few states to impose a lockdown before the 24^th of March when the Prime Minister imposed a nationwide lockdown. Currently, the state government has strictly banned two-wheelers and four-wheelers by only allowing those who have authorized pass issued by the police department. Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa in an interview stated that from the 7^th of April, the lockdown will be made stricter and a free hand is given to the police.

Karnataka has a total of 175 confirmed cases of Sars-cov-2 with 20 recovered and 4 losing their lives. Out of the active cases, 50 of them are from Bengaluru Urban while Mysore, with 35 cases, emerged as a hotspot on Monday. The worry for the Karnataka government continues to be the Nanjangud cluster where the trace of infection has not been achieved yet. Once in the 3^rd position in the country in terms of the number of cases, Karnataka has done reasonably well to slip to the 10^th position.