In Karnataka's Kanakapura constituency of Ramanagara district, a self-imposed lockdown will be observed until July 1 due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases.
The decision to go into lockdown was taken after a meeting chaired by Kanakapura MLA DK Shivakumar along with civic officials, political leaders, and representatives of social organisations at the Kanakapura Municipality office.
The meeting was convened due to the rise in COVID-19 cases and was attended by Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh, brother of DK Shivakumar, MLC Ravi, Deputy Commissioner Archana and Superintendent of Police Anoop Shetty.
DK Shivakumar said that the decision was unanimously taken to protect the health of the residents in Kanakapura. "This is not a government order but officials in Kanakapura have decided this on our own to protect the health of our people," he told reporters.
Traders selling essential items including grocery, fruits and vegetables, will keep their stores open between 7 am and 11 am in the morning. The district administration will decide on the timings for medical shops and wine stores to remain open.
The silk market in Kanakapura too will remain open until a decision is taken on its timings.
Shivakumar further said that the government will be giving Rs 60 per person for those admitted at Ramanagara government hospital and those in quarantine centres for their food expenses. "This will be insufficient so I will be giving Rs 100 on top of this to ensure our people get quality food," Shivakumar said.
The Kanakapura MLA, who is also the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), however clarified that the lockdown will not interfere with the students writing exams this week. Class 10 board exams are set to begin from Thursday across the state. "We will be distributing masks to students in the state. We have readied 1 lakh masks for this purpose," Shivakumar said.
Elsewhere, Bengaluru's Chickpet shopping district will close for a week after traders voluntarily decided to suspend normal business due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in and around the area.
Ramanagara district in Karnataka has recorded 89 coronavirus cases so far of which 82 cases are currently active.
As of Sunday, Karnataka has reported 9150 COVID-19 cases of which 3391 are active cases. The number of cases reported in Bengaluru is 1272 of which 428 were reported in the last three days.