Rahim Uchil appointed vice-president of Karnataka BJP minority morcha

Bengaluru, Jul 9: Alarmed over surging COVID-19 cases, the Karnataka government has decided to divide this tech city into containment zones to curb the spread of the pandemic, a state minister said on Thursday.

"The city will be divided into red, orange and yellow zones in commensurate with the number of Covid cases in them for containing the virus spread on war footing," Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J.C. Madhuswamy told reporters here.

Cabinet ministers representing assembly segments in the city will be in-charge of the zones to ensure the cases are curbed with strict enforcement of lockdown guidelines, especially wearing mask and maintaining social distancing by the people in the confinement areas.

"Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has convened a meeting of ministers, MLAs, MPs and corporators of all the 198 civic wards across the city on Friday to discuss and draw an action plan to contain the pandemic," said Madhuswamy.

With 1,148 positive cases, the city''s Covid tally rose to 12,509 and active to 10,103, while 2,228 were discharged, including 418 on Wednesday, while 177 succumbed to the infection since March 9, with 23 in the last 24 hours.

"The Chief Minister ordered deploying more ambulances in the containment areas where cases have been spiking daily to rush Covid patients to the nearest hospital for immediate treatment," said Madhuswamy.

The city civic corporation -- Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) --has increased the containment zones to 3,181 due to more cases spiking, with southern and western suburbs accounting for most infections.

"The containment zones are concentrated more in the city''s southern and western suburbs. Active cases doubled over the last 8 days and shot up to a whopping 12,509 from 4,555 on June 30," an official said.

Refuting graft charges by opposition Congress leader Siddaramaiah in the purchase of medical equipment for treatment of Covid patients, Madhuswamy said the state government had not spent more than Rs 600 crore so far.

"We are running a government. Not a private office. We will give account. He (Siddaramaiah) is welcome to check the accounts and verify the documents," asserted the minister.

In a related development, the cabinet also approved an ordinance to increase the state contingency fund to Rs 500 crore from Rs 80 crore for the Covid-19 induced economic relief measures announced by the chief minister in June.

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 20: The Kerala government announced the relaxation of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in two zones, allowing among other private vehicles movement in an odd-even basis and dine-in services at hotels from Monday.

State police chief Loknath Behera said the relaxations of restrictions imposed would come into effect in the Green and Orange-B zones in the state from Monday,an official release said.

Earlier, the Left government had colour-coded 14 districts of the state into four zones-- Red, Green, Orange-A and Orange-B, for containing the Covid-19 pandemic. Red zone comprises Kasaragod, Kannur, Kozhikode and Malappuram districts. In this zone, a complete lockdown will be in place until May 3 while two entry and exit points are allowed for carrying essential commodities to coronavirus hotspots. Orange-A zone comprises Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam and Kollam while orange-B zone comprises Alappuzha, Thiruvananthapuram, Palakkad, Thrissur and Wayanad.

The lockdown will be in effect until April 24 in this zone and then partial relaxation will be allowed. Kottayam and Idukki come under the Green zone, in which lockdown will be in effect until April 20 and then regulations will be eased. However, large gatherings, the functioning of educational institutions, religious functions, celebrations and travel outside the district will not be allowed in this zone.

Not more than 20 people are allowed to take part in weddings and funerals, according to government instructions. On the functioning of courts, the release said, "Courts in the Green and Orange-B zones will re-open on April 21 while that in Orange-A zone will start functioning from April 25. The courts will function with 33 per cent of staff. The cases will be heard via video conferencing."

Meanwhile, the Bankers' Council has announced that banks will function as per the usual timings from Monday in the state except four districts falling under the Red zone. The Transport Ministry has clarifiedthat public transport won't be allowed to ply in the state during the lockdown period. "Inter-district travel will not be allowed despite relaxations in the state, but essential services such as medical services, food supplies will not be stopped. However, in case of emergency, inter-district travel will be allowed with an affidavit prepared by the traveller," Behra said in a release.

On the implementation of the odd-even scheme for private vehicles, the police said, "Vehicles with odd numbers will be permitted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Those with even numbers will be allowed on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays." Woman drivers travelling solo or with dependants are also exempted from it, police said. On Sundays, only those working for essential services are allowed to use their vehicles.

All education institutions, cinema halls, shopping malls, public parks, bars, places of worship will remain closed in all zones of the state. The health department and local administration, which carry out sanitation work before the monsoon, are allowed to operate. Four-wheelers are permitted to carry two passengers besides the driver and in case of a two-wheeler, only the driver will be allowed while the pillion rider is allowed in case the person is a family member.

On Dine-in services, a government order said it is allowed at hotels and restaurants until 7 PM in Green and Orange-B zone from Monday and in Orange-A zone from April 24. However, take-away counters can function until 8 PM, it said. Kerala on Sunday reported two positive cases of Covid-19 in the state taking the total number of affected to 401 while the health department announced that 13 people were cured.

Feb 3: The Karnataka government is probably the only state to have so many nodal agencies to deal with investment proposals. There is the KIADB, Karnataka Udyoga Mitra, State High Level Clearance Committee (SHLCC), State Level Single Window Clearance Committee (SLSWCC) and District Level Single Window Clearance Committee.

While the government claims these have been created to speed up the process of setting up industries, they’re only delaying it. “A four-to-five year delay in acquiring land has become the norm,’’ say industry sources.

“These entities are only adding layers of obstacles to investors and is not really helping industries,” said a senior IAS officer.

While DLSWCCs are headed by deputy commissioners are empowered to clear investment proposals up to Rs 15 crore, SLSWCC, headed by the industries minister, clears proposals more than Rs 15 crore and up to Rs 500 crore. Proposals worth more than Rs 500 crore have to be cleared by SHLCC chaired by the CM. These entities have to meet regularly and clear proposals. But often, these meetings don’t happen as scheduled. “The delay starts from here,” said Vasant Ladava, industrialist and member of Karnataka Industries and Commerce, Bengaluru.

The single-window agencies involving representatives of departments like industries, revenue, pollution control board and forest are supposed to collectively give necessary clearances required for industries. “But, of late, they have become only project approvers without other responsibilities, leaving investors in the lurch,” said Ladava.