Karnataka government announces fresh COVID guidelines, weekend curfew to begin on Jan 7
Schools for 1-9 grade to be shut down in Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Jan 4: The Karnataka government on Tuesday decided to impose weekend curfew and extend the night curfew for two weeks in Bengaluru in view of the alarming rise in number of COVID-19 cases.
The government also decided to shut schools and pre-university colleges except for 10th and 12th standard students for two weeks.
"We have decided that barring 10th and 12th classes, schools will be shut for rest of the classes in Bengaluru. These COVID rules will come into effect from Wednesday night," Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka told reporters.
Ashoka said there will be weekend curfew for two weeks from 10 PM on Friday to 5 AM on Monday. All essential services will continue, he added.
Further, the government announced extension of night curfew, which ends on January 7, for two weeks.
The Minister also said that there should not be a congregation of more than 200 people in marriages at open places and 100 in marriage halls. There should also be 50 per cent occupancy in pubs, bars, cinema halls and malls and those working and visiting these places should have taken both the jabs of COVID vaccine.
Also, the government decided to make a negative RT-PCR test report mandatory for those coming to state from Maharashtra, Kerala and Goa, the minister said.
Government offices will have to follow the Government of India guidelines, he explained.
The decision was taken in a high level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, which was attended by senior ministers including health minister Dr K Sudhakar, Ashoka and Higher Education Minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, medical experts and senior officials.
The meeting was held in view of tge sudden jump in COVID cases in the state. Karnataka logged 2,479 cases on Tuesday and four fatalities. Since January 1, the city has been logging over 1,000 cases daily.
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After fake ID crackdown, IRCTC daily new accounts down to 5000 from one lakh: Railways
New Delhi (PTI): With a new, stringent system to establish user identity, the number of new user IDs being added daily on the IRCTC website has declined to about 5,000 from nearly one lakh, officials said on Saturday.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw noted that the crackdown by Indian Railways on train ticket booking through fake identities is yielding positive results, according to a press note.
Before the latest reforms, this number had touched nearly one lakh new user IDs per day, it said.
"Following the introduction of a stringent system to establish user identity and detect fake IDs, about 5,000 new user IDs are now being added daily on the IRCTC website," the note said.
The officials stated that these steps have already helped Indian Railways deactivate 3.03 crore fake accounts.
"Another 2.7 crore user IDs have either been temporarily suspended or identified for suspension based on the suspicious activities they are indulging in," they said.
The Union minister directed officials to ensure that the ticketing system is reformed to a level where all travellers are able to book tickets easily through a real and genuine user ID, the press note added.
Additionally, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed officials to provide local cuisine of the region in Vande Bharat trains.
Introducing local cuisine that reflects the culture and tastes of the regions being traversed will significantly enhance the passenger experience, officials said.
This facility will be expanded to all the trains progressively in future, they added.
