COVID-19: How partial lockdown is affecting taxi and auto drivers

Coronavirus

Even state-run Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation has cut down on their scheduled trips by 10% in non-airport routes.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representational image/Pixcy

Schools, malls and theatres have been closed, a raft of public events and summer classes have been cancelled, travel restrictions and work from home have been advised for IT (information technology) companies, and then there is the general fear over the coronavirus pandemic. These factors have placed several states in the country in partial lockdown.  With this, the movement and commute of the public have reduced, which, in turn, has taken a toll on the daily income of taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers, especially in metro cities like Bengaluru and Kochi.  In fact, even before Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa issued the official order, which came into effect from Saturday, many drivers in Bengaluru told TNM that the dip in passengers had already started and now peaked with the new directive.  “I haven’t started my vehicle in the last two to three days,” Sandeep, a Bengaluru-based app-based cab driver, told TNM. “Even if I fill fuel for Rs 1,000, I can make only Rs 1,300 to Rs 1, 400 in a day, while, on an average day, I can make at least Rs 2,000. In pool options, too, I am not getting customers, even if I wait for half an hour,” he added. According to Tanveer Pasha, the president of Ola, Taxiforsure and Uber Drivers and Owners Association, app-based cab drivers were already in a bad situation and now this had hurt them harder. “Last week, we lost 40-50% of the business and now with the official order, we get only 25-30% of the business. With the work from home option for employees, the number of trips for drivers who are on a contract with IT companies has gone down,” he added.  The situation is similarly bleak for auto drivers like Narayan Swamy, who is also the president of Adarsh Auto Driver Union. “I usually drive from 5 am to 9 pm with a break in the afternoon. By 2 pm, on any given day, I would have earned around Rs 1,200. With the new order, I have not even earned Rs 500,” says Narayan Swamy, who cannot find rides via Ola app as well.  Srinivasan RG, another auto-driver, told TNM that he usually earns around Rs 1,500 a day. “I was out all day on Saturday, which is a weekend, but made only about Rs 300. What can I do? People who usually take autos are at their houses. So I thought it's better to stay at home than waste fuel,” said Srinivasan, who hopes to find more rides on Monday.  Responding to the low number of passengers, even the state government-run Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses have cut their service by 10% in all frequent routes, excluding the airport routes. The situation is no different in the neighbouring state of Kerala, which has reported 20 active cases. It is especially challenging for people like Dhanalakshmi, a single mother of a child with autism, struggling to make ends meet daily.  “The roads in Kochi are almost empty. Even at railway stations, there are only a few passengers. On Saturday, even after riding from morning to evening, I earned Rs 60, after paying the fuel charges. On Friday, it was just Rs 70. On a daily basis, I would get at least Rs 500 a day, excluding fuel charge,” said Dhanalakshmi, who lives in P and T Colony in Kochi, along with her mother who has disabilities.  “My child, who goes to a special school, received 15 kg rice from the school when it closed. We are managing with that. While the Kerala government places restrictions and shut down institutions, they should also help people like us who struggle to make a living,” she explained her plight.  Tanveer also echoed a similar sentiment. “We are requesting the Karnataka government to intervene and help us. At least, ask the financial institutions to waive off the EMIs (equated monthly installment) for the next two to three months so that we can survive. Neither Ola, Uber nor the government has offered to help us. It will become harder as the new academic year begins soon and we need money for our families.” (With inputs from Neethu Joseph and Alithea Stephanie Mounika)

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No restrictions for K'taka CM? He and hundreds more attend BJP MLC's kin's wedding

Coronavirus

Karnataka BJP MLC Mahantesh Kavatagimath's daughter's wedding was held in Belagavi.

Alithea Stephanie Mounika

Going against their own advice, Karnataka ruling party BJP's top leaders took part in a massive gathering for BJP leader Mahantesh Kavatagimath's daughter's wedding. The wedding took place on Sunday in Shagun gardens in the Udyambagh industrial area in Belagavi district. Among the eminent guests at the wedding were Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai. Karnataka has been six coronavirus cases, including one death, promoting the state to issue an order barring all events in the state including weddings, parties and conventions. Malls, theatres and schools are closed, and offices were advised to let their employees work from home. The first coronavirus death in India happened in Karnataka's Kalaburagi district.  However, none of this put a dampener on the ruling MLC's (Member of Legislative Council) wedding plans for his daughter. The wedding was held in an open lawn under a canopy. The Karnataka MLC's daughter's wedding saw close to 2000 people, reports suggest. Visuals show people thronging at the wedding. Coronavirus guidelines say there should be at least 2 meters distance between people, as per the World Health Organization.  This week the RSS had planned a massive gathering in Bengaluru. RSS leaders from all over the country were supposed to join this meeting. At first the organisers wanted to carry-on the meeting with precautions like thermal detectors. However, taking into consideration the order issued by Karnataka government, they decided not to go ahead with the meeting.

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Bengaluru police raid 200-plus medicine shops charging more for masks and hand sanitizers

The police also booked cases against many pharmacies for allegedly selling the essential medical items 2-3 times over the MRP.

IANS

Over 200 medical shops were raided in Bengaluru for allegedly selling masks and hand sanitizers at exorbitant prices, cashing in on soaring demand due to coronavirus outbreak, police said on Sunday. "On complaints from the public, we raided about 210 drug shops across the city on Saturday and stocks seized for selling masks and sanitizers at twice or thrice the retail price," Bengaluru crime branch deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Kuldeep Jain told IANS. The police also booked cases against many pharmacies for allegedly selling the essential medical items 2-3 times over the maximum retail price (MRP). "Though we have not come across any fake unit making them, in the city or state, we have seized about 250 bottles of sanitizers, suspected to be fake from a storage place. We sent the bottles to the lab for tests to check if they are genuine for use," said Jain. "Five shops across the city were also shut for selling the sanitizer liquid bottles illegally and at high cost, added Jain. A special drive has been initiated across the city to check and regulate supply of masks and sanitizers to retailers, which have been selling them at higher rates due to their shortage amid rising demand. "Most masks and sanitizers being sold in the city are from units outside Karnataka but available through their dealer network. No facility yet to make them in the state in the organized sector," a health official said. Incidentally, the union government in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak pn Friday had invoked the Disaster Management Act and declared masks and hand sanitizers as essential commodities for the next 100 days. This step was taken as a bid to stop hoarding which was reported across the country. In a statement, the Consumer Affairs Ministry said, ““Government has notified an order under the Essential Commodities Act to declare these items as essential commodities up to June 30, 2020, by amending the schedule of the Essential Commodities Act 1955.” It added, ““It will enhance the availability of both the items to the general people at reasonable prices or underP (maximum retail price).”  

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Coronavirus: Karnataka postpones exams for Classes 7 to 9

Coronavirus

However exams for Class 10 students and pre-university students will continue as scheduled.

Soumya Chatterjee

Representational image/PTI

Examinations for school students in Classes 7, 8 and 9 in Karnataka will be postponed until after March 31, Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said on Sunday. This is due to the coronavirus pandemic. The revised dates will be announced at a later period. A department spokesperson further told TNM that the Education Minister will pass the circular later in the day. However the exams for Class 10 and PU (pre-university) students will continue as per schedule.  This comes as the state is under a partial, week-long lockdown in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), since Saturday, March 14. All schools and other educational institutions were already closed as part of the same directive, with the exception for holding exams. In an order passed on Friday, all malls, theatres, pubs and exhibitions across Karnataka are to be shut. All conferences and other large scale gatherings have also been told to be postponed. In the wake of this shutdown, the government has further ordered anganwadis to deliver food supplies to children to their homes. The police have been asked to consult with the Health Department prior to granting permission for any gathering. TIll date, there are six positive cases of coronavirus in Karnataka. Out of them, one person, a 78-year-old man from Kalaburagi, succumbed to the diseases. The five others are being treated in Bengaluru since they tested positive, and are in a good condition.  Out of the five, three are techies working with Google, Mindtree and Dell. The other two are the wife and daughter of the professional working at Dell. Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has also said that this partial shutdown will be reviewed at the end of the week. The state government has also passed a a strict advisory to Information Technology (IT) companies asking them to implement work from home policy after they were given an advisory to do the same. Already, many multinational companies have started to ask their employees to work from home. Companies have been told to not allow employees to travel abroad. Similar lockdowns have been ordered by the Delhi state government and neighbouring Telangana government. 

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COVID-19: Restaurants, pubs can remain open in Bengaluru despite partial shutdown

Coronavirus

An Excise Department order had said only CL-4 license holders should be shut.

TNM Staff

Representational image/PTI

Despite the order of a weeklong partial shutdown by Karnataka Chief Minister in a bid to prevent the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) effective from Saturday, some restaurants and bars had kept their establishments open for businesses. According to an order issued by the Karnataka Excise Department, the state government had ordered CL-4 license holders to remain shut. CL-4 licenses are issued to night clubs that have dance floors.  Bars and restaurants were open in the central business district and many bars located along Indiranagar’s 100 ft road and 12th main were also open. Several bars and restaurants were also open in Whitefield and South Bengaluru.  This caused a lot of confusion among bar and restaurant owners with several residents also putting in multiple queries on whether they could be open or not.  The Excise Department order, a copy of which is available with TNM does not mention that bars had to be shut. “Bars where people can sit and drink are allowed to be open. Night clubs are where there are dance floors. These are to be closed because they are categorised as crowded areas,” health department officials told TNM.  The Excise Department issued separate licenses for different kinds of establishments. Night clubs run on a CL-4 license while the Karnataka Exvise Department categorises bars as refreshment rooms and issues the CL-9 license to such establishments. Hotels are given CL-7 license.  The confusion started as the Chief Minister had said on Friday that all pubs, night clubs, movie theatres, conferences, seminars and events like weddings were shuttered for a week starting Saturday.  Even in the directives issued by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Commissioner BH Anil Kumar via Twitter, there is no clear mention of restaurants and bars although pubs and nightclubs feature in the list of preventive closure.  However, an Indiranagar resident speaking with DH, said how that would serve the purpose of the lockdown in other places as usually large crowds assemble in these joints. This the residents feared would add to the spread of the disease and pinned the blame on the excise department and BBMP for the ambiguity.

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Karnataka govt to issue advisory to IT companies to ask employees to work from home

Coronavirus

Three of the six cases of COVID-19 in Karnataka work in IT companies in Bengaluru.

Prajwal Bhat

Representational image/Pixcy

Karnataka government has given a strict advisory to Information Technology (IT) companies in Bengaluru to allow its employees to work from home over fears of the spread of coronavirus.  "We will ask IT companies to give directions to all employees to work from home and not office… in office, they work in a very close atmosphere and centrally air-conditioned office, which increases the chances of infection," Medical Education Minister Dr Sudhakar told reporters in a press briefing on Saturday.  He also hinted that a specific directive will be given to IT companies in this regard before Monday.   Karnataka has reported six positive cases of COVID-19, including five in Benaluru. Three of the cases in Bengaluru are employed in IT companies - Dell, Mindtree and Google. All three patients are currently in isolation and recovering. Their offices have been disinfected and the contacts they came in touch with are being traced.  Many companies in the city have already sanctioned work from home for its employees. This includes Flipkart, which offered its employees the option of working from home for three days.  IT companies in the city have also been asked to restrict employees from travelling abroad, especially to coronavirus-affected countries in a bid to ensure that the disease does not spread in the city.  The state government had also earlier asked IT companies for a list of employees who had travelled to coronavirus-affected countries for work. 

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Wife of Bengaluru Google techie did not ‘flee’ over coronavirus fears: Karnataka govt

Coronavirus

Contrary to earlier reports, she hadn’t stepped in Bengaluru city and had gone from the airport to Delhi directly.

Dr Nimeshika Jayachandran

Theja Ram

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A 25-year-old woman, who is currently in Agra, and is married to a Bengaluru techie working at Google did not flee from officials at the airport, clarified Karnataka state health officials. A report that went viral in the morning had claimed that the couple returned from Italy to Bengaluru and the wife fled after the husband was tested positive for coronavirus on March 7. Speaking to the media during a press meet, Dr Sudhakar the Minister of Medical Education stated that the woman and her husband had gone on their honeymoon to Switzerland and Greece (not Italy), and returned to Mumbai on March 6. “From Mumbai, they reached Bengaluru on March 8 at around 9.45 pm. She left from the airport at 1.30 am on March 9 to Delhi. From Delhi she traveled to Agra,” clarified Sudhakar. Her husband fell sick while he was at work, a day later and he was subsequently found to be positive only on March 12. The Karnataka government therefore says that it would be wrong to say she fled, as on March 9, her husband had not shown any symptoms or tested positive. However, the government added that when the husband fell sick, clear details were not given about the wife's journey. "The wife never entered Bengaluru. She could have flown from Mumbai to Delhi but maybe she wanted to drop the husband in Bengaluru and say goodbye. They were on a honeymoon," an official said during the daily press briefing. According to sources, her interim test was positive, but results of second test are still awaited. The Karnataka government said that they had not received any word from Uttar Pradesh on whether she had tested positive. It is however unclear if the woman's family were not co-operative with Agra officials. Times of India had quoted an official saying that the woman's father had misguided them saying she had gone back to Bengaluru. A friend of the couple however wrote on Facebook that the woman had been quarantined in a hospital that was unhygienic and the family had sought permission to leave, which the authorities granted. The next day, she was taken back to the quarantine. (presumably after her first test was positive). The man was reportedly staying at the Old Airport Road area in Bengaluru and he works in Google’s RMZ Infinity office. Officials from the Karnataka Health Department said that they were in touch with health authorities in both Agra and Mumbai and are updating them of all developments. Earlier in Bengaluru, a Dell employee from Austin, Texas, who traveled via Dubai was found to be positive for the disease. Subsequently, his wife and child also fell ill and were confirmed to have contracted the infection. Another employee from Mindtree who had returned to the US via London was the fourth confirmed positive case in the city and the Google employee the fifth individual. Officials in Karnataka announced on Friday that malls, theatres and pubs would be closed in the state for a week over the coronavirus outbreak. Strict restrictions have been placed in Kalaburagi, where a 76-year-old man died after contracting the disease. This was the first death reported in India due to the disease.

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