Dakshina Kannada District Administration issues guidelines for one-week lockdown
Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada District in a bid to cap the spread of Corona Virus has announced a one-week complete lockdown in the district starting July 15, 8 pm. The District Administration on Wednesday issued guidelines to be followed during the week-long lockdown.
According to the guidelines use of transport facilities, including KSRTC and private buses and private vehicles, is prohibited, except in case of emergency. Commercial and private organizations will remain closed. Containment zones will also be sealed. Ration and grocery shops, as well as stalls selling food items, grains, fruits, vegetables, and meat outside the zones, will be open from 8 am to 11 am, said Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh, while explaining the guidelines for the lockdown.
Bars, malls, and wine stores will all be completely closed. Public entry is prohibited into gymnasiums, sports complexes, stadiums, swimming pools, entertainment parks, stages, auditoriums, and meeting halls. Organizing social, political, sports, entertainment, cultural as well as religious functions and gatherings at all religious places and places of worship is also not permitted.
Work of health, medical, education, police, Home Guards, public security, fire brigade, and emergency services, disaster management forces, Mangaluru City Corporation, and prison will continue, as usual, the deputy commissioner said.
Flight and train services that have been scheduled will continue during the lockdown. The tickets of passengers will be considered as their passes. In addition, people are permitted to travel in taxis and auto-rickshaws to reach the airports and railway stations. Hiring taxis and auto-rickshaws is prohibited – except those booked for emergency situations.
Rupesh also said that schools, colleges, and other education and coaching institutions will remain shut during the lockdown period. The online class system will be continued, however, the examinations scheduled will be conducted following the national guidelines for control of Covid-19. Students answering examinations may use the hall tickets as passes for travel. They may also use the taxis and auto-rickshaws to reach the examination halls. Teachers are permitted to travel to SSLC evaluation centers.
Hospitality services, including hotels and restaurants, will be closed – except for the staff of health, police, and government services departments, health workers, and travelers as well as for quarantine facilities. The hotels and restaurants may only provide food as a takeaway.
Food processing and related industries, banks, insurance offices, ATMs, and print and electronic media houses will be permitted to function. Distance communication, internet, circulation and cable services, information technology, and related services will also be provided. Management offices will have to function with skeletal staff to provide the basic facilities. They will, however, have to give preference to work from home system, said the deputy commissioner.
Supply of food, medicine, medical equipment, and other necessary things, functioning of power generation, supply and transmission units, the Indian Securities and Exchange Board and stock market facilities, cold storage units and godowns will be carried out through e-commerce system, said Rupesh, adding that the rest of the institutions will have to use the work from home system.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Telangana survey flags 89,000 child labourers, highlights caste disparities in employment
Hyderabad: A caste-based survey conducted by the Telangana government for 2024–25 has identified around 89,000 children engaged in labour across the state, with a large share belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities.
The findings are part of the Socio, Economic, Educational, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) Survey, which covered about 3.5 crore people across 242 caste groups. According to the report, nearly one per cent of individuals below 18 years are involved in daily wage work. While the percentage appears small, officials noted that the absolute number reflects a serious concern.
The survey found that 11 per cent of identified child labourers belong to the ST Lambadi community, while 14 per cent are from the SC Madiga community. The highest incidence was reported among the ST Kolam group, where 7.2 per cent of minors are engaged in daily wage labour.
The data also revealed wider socio-economic disparities. Nearly half of the Scheduled Caste population is dependent on daily wage work, while only around 5 per cent are employed in the private sector, compared to about 30 per cent among General Castes.
State Welfare Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said the findings show that SC and ST communities remain three times more backward than General Castes, while Backward Classes are about 2.7 times more disadvantaged.
The report further noted that, on average, 31.3 per cent of people in the 25–65 age group depend on daily wage work. Among communities, the BC-A Odde group recorded the highest share at 55 per cent. In contrast, only 2.6 per cent of OC Brahmins rely on such work.
Several SC and ST communities, including Kolam, Beda, Madiga, Koya, Gond, Yerukulas and Mala Sale, were found to have among the highest proportions of daily wage earners. On the other hand, most General Caste communities and some Backward Class groups such as Goldsmiths and BC-C Christians showed lower dependence on daily wage employment.
The survey also pointed to inequalities in access to formal employment. Communities such as OC Rajus, OC Brahmins and Kapus were found to have a higher presence in private sector jobs, with up to 27 per cent of their population employed in such roles.
