On Thursday, the Karnataka government under the leadership of BS Yediyurappa has sent out clear signs that it is in favor of opening up shopping malls and liquor outlets among other major industrial activities from the 4th of May.
Come 4th of May, when the nationwide lockdown is supposed to end, the Karnataka government is gearing up to allow business activities to open up except those that are in containment zones. While the state has allowed certain businesses to open up in the non-containment and green zone areas, it is now planning to open up liquor outlets, shopping malls, and other commercial activities from the coming week.
This will exclude the containment zones. The containment zones too will be restricted to specific streets instead of an entire ward. The lockdown conditions will be stringent in the containment zones. However, the state will wait for the center’s instructions before rolling out any plan.
24 Containment zones in the state
Earlier this week, in the green and orange zone areas, the state government has allowed the functioning of few IT and ITeS sectors, standalone shops, select industries, 15 government departments, and agricultural activities. A cabinet meeting was called to discuss the road ahead after the second phase of lockdown comes to an end on the 3rd of May. After the meeting, Chief Minister Yediyurappa spoke to the media and said,
“As COVID-19 cases are likely to continue for 2-3 months, both economic activities and efforts to control the pandemic must go hand in hand. We have decided to give permission to start industrial and commercial activities in all places except the containment zones from the 4th of May.”
However, in the red-zone districts like Bengaluru Urban, the restrictions are expected to apply for the 24 containment zones that are spread over 34 wards in the city. In the other parts of the city, the normal business has been proposed to resume. In the case of shopping malls, cinema theatres, and other gathering spots, the center has to approve for the proposal. The Chief Minister said that he is confident that the Prime Minister will permit all activities as it is the expectations of all the states. According to the sources, public transport and metro may not function until the 15th of May.
Source: The Times of India
