Kanakapura Assembly constituency will observe a “voluntary lockdown” till July 1 as the number of COVID-19 cases there are on a rise.
The decision to observe a voluntary lockdown was made at a meeting chaired by Kanakapura legislator and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president-designate D.K. Shivakumar on Sunday. Officials, leaders of all parties, and representatives of social organisations were among those who participated. The emergency meeting was convened in light of the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the segment. MP for Bengaluru Rural D.K. Suresh, MLC Ravi, Deputy Commissioner Archana, and Superintendent of Police Anoop Shetty were also present.
According to a press release issued here on Sunday, the measure was necessary to protect the old and the young during this pandemic. “This lockdown has nothing to do with the State government’s guidelines. This will be voluntary and will be reviewed on July 1,” Mr. Shivakumar said.
He said that traders had agreed to keep open essential items stores between 7 a.m. and 11 a.m. The district administration, in consultation with the respective trade bodies, will decide on the timings for medical and wine stores. Wearing masks and keeping sanitisers on hand has been made mandatory and the police will implement this, he added. The timings for the silk market will be announced later.
Asking the public to refrain from moving around unnecessarily, he directed the district administration to be reasonable while implementing the voluntary lockdown.
Additional funds
Mr. Shivakumar also said that the government was giving only ₹60 per person daily towards the food expenses of those admitted at Ramanagaram government hospital and for those in quarantine centres. “This is grossly insufficient. Hence, we have decided to provide ₹100 more from the DKS Charitable Foundation,” the Congress leader said.
He refused to comment on the government’s decision to hold the SSLC exam.
