COVID-19: Bengaluru cops to book those who ‘violate’ Janata curfew on Sunday

Coronavirus

Bengaluru is under partial lockdown till March 31 as a preventive measure.

TNM Staff

The Bengaluru city police said on Saturday that they would ‘detain and book’ those who ‘violate’ the 14-hour Janata curfew called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Janata curfew is to be observed across the country between 7 am and 9 pm on Sunday as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. As of Saturday, there are 320 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country. “I have advised my staff to be polite with the people, check reasons for coming out of their homes and advise them to go back. If they don't abide and argue with the police, they will be detained and booked for violating the law,” Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao told news channels on Saturday. While the Prime Minister had called for a self-imposed curfew by citizens (janata) on Sunday, the city commissioner said ‘every citizen was bound to abide by the advice as it was in the interest of all and to prevent the contagious virus affecting them or spreading to others.’ The Commissioner also urged women not to allow their children to come out of their homes to play or have fun on the streets. Elders also should not be allowed to step outside or even to run small errands, as they are vulnerable to the COVID-19 symptoms, he said. Speaking to news agency IANS, one police official said, “If citizens move around the city without a specific purpose or on a non-essential service on Sunday, they will be detained and quarantined in the nearest police station till 9 pm and let off later.” The police official further told the news agency that those who violate the Janata curfew offenders could be booked and detained under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease danger­ous to life), the Karnataka Police Act 30 (Section L) and the Epidemic Act. Many, however, have questioned the validity of this proposed police action, asking how it would apply to non-infected citizens. In a nationwide televised address on Thursday night, Prime Minister Modi urged people across the country to stay at home on Sunday from early morning to late night and avoid moving out for commuting or travelling out of the city, social gathering or crowding in public places to be safe and healthy. Bengaluru has already been under partial lockdown from March 14 to March 31 as a preventive measure to minimise the fallout of the fatal disease sweeping across the world and claiming lives in the thousands. As all malls, theatres, markets, shops, restaurants, eateries, parks, grounds and tourist spots will remain shut, the police official told IANS that people need not leave their homes for errands or leisure activity. “Metro rail service will be suspended for the day. The state-run transport corporation will operate limited bus services on select routes to discourage commuting in the city and travelling across the state or neighbouring states,” the official said. The Ministry of Railways has cancelled several passenger, express and mail trains and decided to operate a few suburban services on need basis. Auto-rickshaw, taxi and private bus associations have also decided to suspend their services on Sunday to support Modi's call for a one-day people's curfew. (With IANS input)  

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Bengaluru's shopping hub Commercial Street empties out, shopkeepers play cricket

Coronavirus

Usually, the street is packed with people who are out shopping.

TNM Staff

In Bengaluru’s Commercial Street, the central commercial hub of the city, there’s usually so much foot traffic that often, people trip on each other’s feet. In the weekends, especially, the street is packed with people who are out shopping. However, all that has changed this weekend. With the Janata Curfew around the corner, the public has been instructed to stay indoors and not go to crowded places due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Saturday, instead of the usual crowd, noise, traffic and heavy shopping, shopkeepers, who had little to no business, decided to take their minds off the dip in sales by playing cricket on Commercial Street.  One of the shopkeepers said, “We used to play like this every Sunday in 1994. Until around 2000, we were able to play cricket here. After that, things changed.” Another shopkeeper said, “We haven’t had the opportunity to do this in the last 20 years. Now, due to the coronavirus, we can play cricket on the street again.” Though food markets and other essential services will continue to function, entertainment and shopping are off limits, with the Karnataka government mandating the closure of schools, theatres, malls and public gatherings until March 31. Roads across Bengaluru saw an unprecedented lack of traffic this week, with the government advising a work from home policy. Social media users shared photos of the empty roads, commenting on how such a sight is rare in Bengaluru which is infamous for its traffic.   Bangalore roads are so empty today morning ....... Never in Last 10 yrs #corona #Coronaindia #COVID2019india pic.twitter.com/L0VKJJUIgp — #RRR (@naveentilak) March 18, 2020   The Janata Curfew was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who called it a ‘citizen-led’ curfew. However, the Bengaluru Police Commissioner has reportedly said that anyone found outside during the curfew will be booked by the police for violating it. All inputs by Suman Roddam.

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Karnataka has five more coronavirus cases, house help of patient contracts disease

Coronavirus

The other four individuals who tested positive were 2 from Bengaluru, a 35-year-old man from Chikkaballapura, and another person from Mysuru who had recently traveled to India from Saudi Arabia.

TNM Staff

Rerp

Officials in Karnataka announced five new cases of coronavirus in the state, taking the total number of people infected with the novel coronavirus to 20 in the state. The househelp of a Bengaluru woman who tested positive for coronavirus disease has also been confirmed to have contracted COVID-19. The househelp worked for a 67-year-old Bengaluru resident, who had recently returned to India from Dubai via Goa. ಇಂದು ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿ 5 ವ್ಯಕ್ತಿಗಳಿಗೆ #Covid_19 ಸೋಂಕು ಧೃಡಗೊಂಡಿದ್ದು, ರಾಜ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಇಲ್ಲಿಯವರೆಗೆ ಒಟ್ಟು 20 #Covid_19 ಪ್ರಕರಣಗಳು ಪತ್ತೆಯಾಗಿದೆ. Today, 5 #Covid_19 positive cases have been confirmed in Karnataka taking the total confirmed cases to 20. — B Sriramulu (@sriramulubjp) March 21, 2020 “The woman began showing symptoms on March 19, and was admitted and her samples sent for testing on the same day,” stated additional chief secretary Jawaid Akhtar addressing the media on Saturday evening. The other four individuals who tested positive were 2 from Bengaluru, a 35-year-old man from Chikkaballapura, and another person from Mysuru who had recently traveled to India from Saudi Arabia. Read: Another coronavirus case in Bengaluru: 67-yr-old, who returned from Dubai, tests positive Officials have stated that all passengers flying in from out of the country will be stamped with indelible ink which states that they will be required to stay under home quarantine. “A health worker from the (health) department or from the BBMO will go and give notice to people under quarantine and their neighbours,” added Jawaid. Those under home isolation will be stamped on their palms. Around 542 individuals are currently under observation after having suspected to have contracted the infection. A lockdown has been in place since March 19 and will continue to remain until March 31. This may be extended if officials deem the same. Karnataka is expected to follow the Janata Curfew on Sunday as issued by PM Modi. The state has been following a partial shutdown since Thursday. All schools and colleges have been indefinitely closed. Some exams have been postponed in view of the coronavirus pandemic. Malls, theatres, and pubs have been also asked to close their doors to patrons. However, restaurants have been allowed to operate for takeaway orders only, having no dine-in operations. The Kalaburagi, Kodagu, and Davangere districts have been put under strict lockdown. District commissioners have asked the public not to venture out for any work, and should venture out only for emergencies, and only one person at a time. Only essential government services such as health, electricity, water and police departments will be functional. All public gatherings have been prohibited, and all functions and religious activities have been cancelled or postponed. Earlier on Saturday, state health minister B Sriramulu had announced that a person from Chikkaballapura had tested positive for COVID-19. Including two patients who were discharged on Friday after making full recovery, there are now 20 positive cases in the state. Read: Flooding, unhygienic: Bengaluru woman complains of private facility for quarantine Also read: ‘This is temporary’: Psychiatrists counselling COVID-19 patients to stay calm in crisis

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K'taka MLA Sowmya Reddy quits State Wildlife Board over Hubli-Ankola railway project

Environment

This comes after the Board sanctioned the railway project, which is estimated to cut down over 1.73 lakh trees in sensitive biodiversity hotspots across the Western Ghats.

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Sowmya Reddy on FB

Congress MLA Sowmya Reddy announced her decision to leave the Karnataka State Wildlife Board on Saturday over the controversial Hubli-Ankola railway project which is proposed to cut through the Western Ghats. Even as the project has been facing stiff criticism from the public, the Karnataka government, led by Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, has decided to go ahead with it, clearing it for construction activities. The railway project will cut through the protected forests of the Western Ghats. Over 1.73 lakh trees will be cut, across nearly 600 hectares of forest land. The proposed railway line will cut through Kali Tiger Reserve and Bedthi Conservation Reserve. In a Facebook post, the Congress MLA wrote, ”I have decided to resign from the state wildlife board because the board with the leadership of Hon’ble CM BS Yediyurappa has decided to implement the Hubli-Ankola Railway project which is harmful to the environment and wildlife. I am not against development, but I cannot support something that is harmful for the environment where there was an alternative. My conscience will not allow me to. Natural disasters in the recent past have shown us that nothing is bigger than preserving the existing nature.” (sic) Her post also carried a quote, attributed to a Native American prophecy: “Only when the last tree has died, the last fish caught, and the last river poisoned, will we realise that we cannot eat money.” There is currently a petition to protect the forests and its ecology, with over 2,000 signatures at the time of writing. Read: 2.2 lakh trees at risk in Karnataka as CM moots Hubballi-Ankola rail line The Karnataka government has been taking a series of decisions which are set to disturb the ecological balance in the environment. The Bannerghatta National Park, a wildlife reserve which hosts tigers and leopards, has recently been notified to be reduced by 100 square kilometres. Read: Centre notifies reduction of Bannerghatta buffer zone in Bengaluru, activists irked The BJP government and Forest Minister Anand Singh have been quick to table and pass construction and road-widening projects that threaten thousands of trees around Bengaluru. Environmentalists and citizens have pointed out that this would adversely affect the climate in Bengaluru and Karnataka as a whole, which has already seen two major cyclones last year. Read: Will over 3,500 trees in Bengaluru be axed? Activists await expert committee’s report

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Flooding, unhygienic: Bengaluru woman complains of private facility for quarantine

Coronavirus

The hospital has noted that much of their cleaning staff has not been coming to work and that leaks in the building have now been repaired.

Theja Ram

The Karnataka government has repeatedly stressed the need for people coming from abroad to be home isolated and, in many cases, keeping them under quarantine at designated facilities close to the airport. However, for a senior resident of Bengaluru, the stay at a private centre — the East Point College of Medical Sciences’ hospital — four days ago, was unbearable, with the unhygienic conditions and flooding in the hospital.  A 60-year-old resident of Bengaluru’s RT Nagar and her 70-year-old husband came to India from the UK on Wednesday, according to the woman, who wished to remain anonymous. While many passengers are told to undergo mandatory home quarantine for 14 days, those with symptoms, other ailments and older individuals are made to stay in quarantine centres. The couple was transported from the airport to the Akash Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, where their medical history was taken, and then to East Point College of Medical Sciences, a facility that’s run privately and has been designated for the government-mandated quarantine. They were allegedly made to wait for several hours between the trips.  “No one was helping us with anything. I understand that people are scared but we found it very difficult to carry so much luggage and manage,” the woman said. “Another person came and started chasing us inside. He kept saying, ‘go, go, go inside now’, like we were animals to be herded,” she added.  The couple was put in a room that was still under construction. The woman said that the roof of the room was cracked and 12 patients were to share one bathroom and toilet. “Water stagnates when someone has a bath. We have to bathe in the filth. Cleaning staff are also scared of contracting the infection but we all fear that we may contract other illnesses if not COVID-19 due to these unhygienic conditions,” she said.  On Friday night, after several parts of the city witnessed rainfall, water began leaking from cracked roofs and flooded the corridors and several wards in the quarantine facility.  “The water began falling on my husband. We asked them if we could be moved but we were not moved until this morning (Saturday). Besides, they gave us food in plastic covers on the first and second day. It was very unhygienic. They didn’t give us plates until all of us demanded the same,” she added. Conditions involving others   The woman also recounted an incident in which a 90-year-old man, who has diabetes, was unable to get his insulin shots regularly due to the lack of medical staff.  “Obviously everyone is scared of contact. But the doctors should have administered the shots properly,” she said.  On Friday morning, after she complained to the doctor and questioned him, she has been helping him inject the shots. “What can we do? He is so old. We can’t let him suffer,” she added.  Speaking to TNM, the grandson of the 90-year-old man confirmed that he was not informed of his grandfather’s stay at the facility. In addition, the woman there told TNM that relatives of people under quarantine had been allowed visitation with family members. The son of a 62-year-old woman kept under quarantine was allegedly allowed to stay in the ward overnight and left in the morning. The woman had a travel history to Dubai. “We have not been tested positive or negative but until we know for sure, how can they not make social distancing mandatory? What if they infect others around them?” she questioned.  What the hospital says Speaking to TNM, officials at the quarantine facility said that only four out of 50 cleaning staff have been coming in to work as they too are scared of contracting the virus.  “We can understand their concerns. We are also trying to manage with whatever resources we have. We are working hard too,” he said. “With only four cleaning staff, we can’t overwork them either. Cleaning should happen five times a day and they are able to do it only once,” an official said on condition of anonymity.  He also noted that they are working on repairing the leaks in the building. “The roofs are being repaired today and we will make sure it does not leak.” When asked whether relatives of those in quarantine were allowed visitation, the official refused to comment.   

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