Karnataka govt to ease many lockdown restrictions after April 20
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday decided to ease many lockdown restrictions after April 20, including allowing industries to operate and for thirty three per cent staff in the IT-BT sector to attend offices, to give a thrust to economic activities.
"However the easing of restrictions will not be permitted in COVID-19 affected areas in the state which will be declared as containment zones," Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa told reporters after chairing a high-level meeting, attended by senior ministers and officials.
"It was decided that there will be no restrictions on the transportation of essential goods, as well as construction materials like gravel, sand, cement and steel," he said. Construction workers will be allowed to stay where they are employed, he added.
The Chief Minister said 33 per cent of the workforce of IT-BT companies would be allowed to attend office after April 20. Industries would be permitted to function in industrial clusters in villages and Special Economic Zones or industrial townships in urban areas, he said.
Inter district movement of vehicles would not be permitted, barring between Ramanagar, Bengaluru urban and Bengaluru rural district. "These three districts will be considered as one district in view of hectic movement of people due to industrial activities, Yediyurappa said.
In the containment zones, an 'incident commander' having magisterial powers would be appointed. He would head a team of police and health officials to ensure there are no violations in the zones. Residents within these zones would not be allowed to come out of their homes and essential items would be supplied to them at their doorsteps, he said.
Among other decisions taken were that there would be no restrictions on use of two wheelers after April 20 and that restrictions on sale of liquor would continue till May 3, he said.
The Chief Minister expressed happiness over the decline in the number of cases on Saturday.
"One satisfying thing is that there were 36 new cases on April 16.... yesterday it was 44 and it has come down to 12 today. Out of the 371 cases, 266 are active cases because 92 people have recovered and 13 people died," he said.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
