World Tulu Literature & Cultural Convention in Bengaluru on Jan 13, 14

Bengaluru, May 4: Booze lovers ushered in the resumption of liquor sales in a spirited fashion in Karnataka onMonday thronging stores hours before shutters went up at severalplaces and made no secret of their celebratory mood.

At some places, they flocked liquor shops even before day-break and performed "special prayers" with flowers, coconuts,incense sticks, camphor and crackers in front of the stores.

Liquor outlets had been shut in the State from March 25 following the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Excise revenue loss during the period was about Rs 2,500 crore, according to government sources.

About 4,500 standalone liquor outlets (CL-2 and CL- 11licence holders), which comprise wine stores and those owned bystate-run Mysore Sales International Limited, outside containmentzones were allowed to be opened from Monday from 9 am to 7 pm withsome restrictions.

Free Games on Deccan Chronicle. No Installing, No Charges. Stay Home Stay Safe. Click the Banner to play Now.
These include customers compulsorily wearing of facemasks andmaintaining social distancing with not more than five people inside liquor shops.

Many customers were indeed well-prepared.

At many places, they came with umbrella, raincoat, newspapers and books and queued up as early as 3 am.

At a liquor shop in Salegame Road in Hassan, the tipplers lit the traditional lamp and incense sticks, performed 'aarati'with camphor and decorated the store with the garland of flowers.

With folded hands, they all performed 'special prayers'.

In Mandya, the tipplers queued up before Martaanda liquor shop before dawn.

An hour before the sales were to resume, a few people burst crackers in celebration.

Some tipplers in Belagavi were more "enterprising."

They wentto a liquor store on Sunday night itself, performed special prayersand placed their "representatives" in the form of slippers, bags and stones in the "social distancing boxes" they themselves had drawn sothat they don't have to stand in queue in the morning.

An elderly woman Dakamma was the centre of attraction in Shivamogga.

The bent body did not bend the determination of this spirited lady, claimed to be 96-year-old, who was heard saying "liquor is goodfor health."

At the taluk headquarters town of Brahmavara in the coastal Udupi district, the queue of the booze lovers was reported to be almost half-a-kilometre.

Long queues were seen at liquor stores at Mariyappana Palya and K R Puram, among others, in Bengaluru.

The store managers too were no less cautious while dealing with customers in the COVID era.

They let the customers enter after spraying sanitisers in their hands, and allowed only those who hadworn masks and maintained social distancing.

To maintain law and order, authorities had deployed policemen in good numbers at these stores and they were seen on duty ensuring  that customers maintained social distancing.

Kasaragod, Apr 10: Eleven people died so far in Kerala's northern district Kasargod as they could not access medical facilities in Mangaloru since the border roads were blocked by the Karnataka Government, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said.

Addressing a press conference at the Government Secretariat here, the Chief Minister said, "It is really unfortunate that people from Kasargod district in Kerala are still being denied treatment in hospitals at Mangalore in Karnataka State."

"We will improve the medical facilities in Kasargod and if necessary, patients will be airlifted to the neighbouring districts in Kerala to provide emergency medical assistance," he added.

Mysuru, Apr 7 Following a tiger at Bronx Zoo in the US, testing positive for COVID-19, Mysuru Zoo authorities here have taken measures to contain the spread of the dreaded disease as per the directions of the Central Zoo Authority (CZA).

The Zoo is on alert and the animal keepers are not allowed to enter the enclosures without safety gear. It is mandatory for the personnel to undergo thermal screening before entering the Zoo. The personnel are provided with safety gears such as masks, gloves and Sanitisers. The CZA has directed to spray disinfectants near the enclosures of the animals and has also directed to monitor the animals’ behavior.

Zoo Authority of Karnataka Member Secretary B P Ravi said, "COVID-19 was detected in a domestic cat two weeks back in Hong Kong. Due to the outbreak of bird flu in Mysuru, we have taken all precautionary measures to combat COVID-19."