Hotels begin service, metro & buses start operations and gyms open in 17 districts of Karnataka
Bengaluru, Jun 21: Hotels have begun services, gyms have reopened and public transport buses and Metro have resumed operations with riders on Monday as the state government's guidelines further relaxing Covid-19 curbs in 17 districts of Karnataka, including Bengaluru city have come into effect.
The new guidelines popularly called "unlock 2" have come into effect from 6 AM and will be in force up to 5 AM on July 5.
In the 17 districts, where the Covid-19 positivity rate is below 5 per cent shops will be open from 6 AM to 5 PM beginning Monday and public transport including bus and metro began operations with 50 per cent capacity.
Though bus operations has come as a relief to office goers and others who depend on them for commuting, they plying in lesser numbers and with 50 per cent capacity is causing chaos at bus stands in several places of the city, with higher number of people wanting to avail its service.
Similar reports are received from other places.
While the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporations (KSRTC) has said it is deploying 3,000 bues initially for local and inter-district long route bus operations, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) had said it will ply 2,000 buses.
According to BMTC officials, till 8 AM a total of 796 buses are being operated.
Hotels, clubs and restaurants without air conditioning opened for service until 5 PM with 50 per cent seating, but liquor will not be permitted.
Also, gyms began functioning at half capacity and parks will be open from 5 AM to 6 PM for walking and jogging.
Functioning of lodges and resorts with bookings up to 50 per cent, outdoor sports activities without spectators, outdoor film shooting are among the other things that are permitted from Monday.
However, there will be a curfew in place between 7 PM and 5 AM on weekdays and during weekends curfew will be in place from 7 PM on Friday to 5 AM on Monday throughout the state.
Among those that continue to remain shut are swimming pools, places of worship, political events, educational institutions, shopping malls, pubs and amusement parks.
Steady increase has been seen in traffic movement in the city, with all government and private offices being permitted to function with 50 per cent of their staff strength and offices dealing with essential and emergency services are permitted to function as per their requirement.
These relaxations are applicable in Bengaluru Urban, Uttara Kannada, Belagavi, Mandya, Koppala, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru, Kolar, Gadag, Dharwad, Raichur, Bagalkot , Kalaburagi, Haveri, Ramanagara, Yadgir and Bidar.
In rest of the districts that have a positivity rate of more than 5 per cent, the existing relaxation which was in place from June 11, will apply, allowing essential shops to be open from 6 AM to 2 PM, and movement of people till 7 PM.
Mysuru, where the positivity rate is high, will remain under a strict lockdown until July 5.
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Intermediate student jumps to death in Andhra Pradesh
Somaladoddi (Andhra Pradesh), Jan 23 (PTI): A 16-year-old boy jumped to death from the third floor of his junior college on Thursday here in Anantapur district, said a police official.
Anantapur Rural sub-divisional police officer T Vekateshulu said the boy just returned to college from Sankranti holidays on Thursday morning and died by suicide at 11:55 am.
"After the holidays, this boy came to the college around 9:30 am on Thursday. While the class was going on, around 11:55 am, he suddenly came out from the classroom and jumped from the third floor," Venkateshulu told PTI.
Immediately, the college management shifted the injured boy to a local hospital where doctors examined him and declared that he was dead. Police said the intermediate student hailed from Ramapuram village of Batthenapalli mandal in Sri Sathyasai District.
The suicide of the boy pursuing intermediate first year at Narayana Junior College was captured on CCTV cameras. The recording shows him rising from his bench and straightaway proceeding to jump from the third floor unperturbed, police said.
Meanwhile, police are taking a complaint from the boy's parents to register a case and investigate further.
AP: Intermediate student jumps to death, CCTV captures incident
— The Siasat Daily (@TheSiasatDaily) January 23, 2025
A 16-year-old student died by suicide after jumping from the third floor of his junior college building on Thursday, January 23 in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh (AP).
The victim has been identified as… pic.twitter.com/aKEAOEmdOJ
