Karnataka limps back to normal; buses, autorickshaws resume services
Bengaluru: After rigid lockdown for 56 days to contain coronavirus, starting from March 24, Karnataka on Tuesday started limping back to normalcy with autorickshaw, cabs and city buses plying on the roads adhering to the new norms issued by the government.
After remaining in confinement for nearly two months, the taxi drivers, bus drivers and autorickshaw drivers flooded the roads, but with caution.
The Karnataka government had on Monday announced easing of restrictions allowing buses, autos and cabs to operate in the state with strict guidelines that the drivers have to compulsorily wear masks and use hand sanitisers.
It also specified the number of passengers to travel in these vehicles. There were however, problems galore all over.
The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) ran 1,500 buses on the first day in the state capital after the restrictions were relaxed. However, instead of issuing travel tickets, the BMTC started issuing daily, weekly and monthly passes.
A public relation officer of BMTC told PTI, "We are encouraging only long distance travel within the city instead of issuing tickets from one bus stop to another.
Only those who are in need to visit from one place to another will travel."
He said only 20 people were inside the buses and the travellers were encouraged to use the QR codes, put up inside the buses, to make cashless payments to avoid exchange of cash.
The Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV), a union of bus passengers, opposed the BMTC compelling people to buy passes and not the ticket from one destination to another.
Most of the city buses ran almost empty as there were not many takers.
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) had to confront an unprecedented situation as there was commotion at bus stands in various parts of the state due to the mad rush of passengers.
Following high demand, the corporation operated 1,161 buses.
Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, who is in charge of transport department, admitted that there were some shortcomings in the arrangements.
He was however, confident that things would improve from Wednesday. The autorickshaw drivers hit the roads in the state only to find very few passengers willing to take up the journey due to coronavirus scare.
"We have resumed services but not many people are willing to travel in autorickshaws.
We have been asked by the government to spray disinfectants on the vehicle before and after every commercial trip, but where will we get such a spray.
The government has to fund us, otherwise we will not survive," Manju, an auto rickshaw driver told PTI in Bengaluru.
According to him, most of the drivers were allowing only one passenger to travel and some of them have put up a board between them and the passenger to avoid any contact with them.
In Mysuru, the city buses and autorickshaws had few passengers whereas the inter-district buses, especially those to Bengaluru were full.
In Hubballi-Dharwad, the businesses resumed with full strength as the restrictions were eased. All the shops were open but the usual crowd was missing.
Autorickshaws, city and inter-district buses operated to full capacity.
In Belagavi, in North Karnataka adjoining Maharashtra, there was less movement of buses and autorickshaws on the roads though the shops were open. People preferred to travel in their own vehicles.
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Women BJP MLAs protest against opposition in UP assembly premises
Lucknow (PTI): Women BJP MLAs held a protest in the Vidhan Bhawan complex before the one-day special session of Uttar Pradesh assembly, slamming the opposition for defeating the passage of a bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Law, in the Lok Sabha.
This followed another demonstration by Samajwadi Party MLAs, who alleged that the BJP was misleading public in the name of women's reservation.
The women BJP legislators assembled in front of Chaudhary Charan Singh's statue in the assembly premises, holding banners inscribed with the slogan "Insult to Matrushakti (women's power), India will not tolerate it". The protesting members entered the main hall of Vidhan Bhawan carrying the banners.
Participating in the protest, the state Minister for Women Welfare and Child Development, Baby Rani Maurya, told reporters that all opposition parties, including the Samajwadi Party and the Congress, had opposed the women's reservation, a stance for which they would have to pay a heavy political price.
"On this issue, all of us women stand united. We will ensure that we secure our reservation," she said.
BJP MLA Ketki Singh remarked that their protest represents the collective outrage of millions of women across the state.
Singh asserted that the opposition has betrayed women by creating hurdles in the path of women's reservation. The current demonstration is merely the beginning, and very soon, women from every street, intersection and household will join the protest movement, she said.
Minister Vijaylakshmi Gautam said, "We strongly condemn the despicable act committed by the Samajwadi Party and the Congress in an attempt to hold back 'half the population' (women). Their action was directed against the very bill that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had introduced to empower and strengthen Nari Shakti (women's power), and which he strived to pass expeditiously."
Uttar Pradesh assembly is holding a one-day special session on Thursday. During the session, the government is set to move a censure motion against the opposition parties over their failure to pass the Constitution Amendment Bill, which would have led to implementation of the Women's Reservation Act, in the Lok Sabha.
