Karnataka govt extends coronavirus lockdown till April 21 midnight
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Sunday issued fresh orders to continue the stringent lockdown measures issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs till the midnight of April 21.
The government is considering lockdown relaxation after April 21, and the state cabinet that is scheduled to meet on Monday is likely to discuss this, sources said.
Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar in his capacity as Chairman, State Executive Committee, has issued directions to all departments, district Deputy Commissioners, Superintendent of Police and other Heads of Departments that they shall continue to implement the measures presently in force in the state to contain the spread of COVID-19, till the midnight of April 21, the order said.
Noting that the Union Home Ministry on April 14 had issued directions to states that lockdown measures will continue to remain in force upto May 3, it said, the Ministry with an intention of mitigating hardship of the public has allowed select additional activities from April 20, as per the guidelines.
Hours after announcing that two-wheelers will be allowed to ply on roads and IT/BT companies can resume operations with 33 per cent strength after April 20, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Saturday had rolled them back, citing public opinion as the reason.
However, the decisions announced by Yediyurappa after a meeting of senior ministers on Saturday, which remain unchanged so far include- identifying containment zones and the activities to be permitted in non-containment zones.
Also, appointing incident commander to each containment zone and giving them magisterial power; 33 per cent workforce of Government Departments will be allowed to work and they should come in contract buses, that would be hired exclusively for them; prohibitary orders will be continued till May 3; Malls, showrooms will remain closed.
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Toll charges across Karnataka to rise by up to 5% from April 1
Bengaluru: Vehicle users across Karnataka will pay higher toll charges from April 1, with rates set to increase by 3–5 per cent as part of the annual inflation-linked revision. The revised fares are expected to be formally notified in the coming days.
A senior official from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was quoted by Decan Herald as saying that the hike is linked to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and will apply to nearly all toll plazas in the state. Around 10 toll plazas, however, will see revised rates later in the year, from September 1.
The official explained that the increase is calculated in line with the WPI and then rounded off. “If the hike works out to ₹2.5 or more, it will be rounded off to ₹5,” he said.
The Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway which was inaugurated in 2023, will see revised rates in toll plazas of Kaniminike and Sheshagirihalli on the Bengaluru-Mysuru stretch, Bagepalli on the Bengaluru-Hyderabad highway, Sadahalli on the Bengaluru Airport Road, Nangli on the Bengaluru-Tirupati route along with Hulikunte and Nalluru Devanahalli on the Satellite Town Ring Road.
K B Jayakumar, Project Director, NHAI, told Deccan Herald that the revision has been carried out in accordance with the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. “Toll charges at all public-funded plazas will be increased in accordance with the 2008 Fee Rules. This happens at the start of every financial year,” he said.
He added that in Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll plazas where operations commenced before 2008, the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 1997 apply, allowing fare revisions at other times during the financial year. A maximum hike of five per cent is expected.
Jayanth Reddy, a resident of Whitefield who frequently travels to Mysuru for work, told Deccan Herald that has witnessed multiple toll revisions since it became operational and the recurring hikes add to the burden on the costliest routes in the state. “A toll charge of ₹180 for one-way travel is already quite high,” he said.
Travel operators also expressed concern. Santosh, who runs a travel agency, said passengers travelling from Bengaluru to Kerala are particularly affected. “We pass on the entire toll charge to customers. At present, the total toll for a road trip ranges between ₹2,000 and ₹3,000,” he said.
