Karnataka’s Ballari, Vijayanagara to remain under night curfew

All social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, religious activities are also banned in the two districts and no one can take out large congregations, an official order said. Jathres, temples, festivals and processions are also not allowed, it added.

Authorities in Karnataka’s Ballari and Vijayanagara said on Saturday the two districts will continue to remain under night curfew as they issued guidelines on the curbs put in place to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). According to an official order, the curfew will be in place from 9pm to 5am. All social, political, sports, entertainment, academic, religious activities are also banned in the two districts and no one can take out large congregations, the order said. Jathres, temples, festivals and processions are also not allowed, it added.

According to an official order, the curfew will be in place from 9pm to 5am. (HT file photo. Representative image)

People found violating these restrictions in Ballari and Vijayanagara will be liable under the relevant provisions of section 51 to 60 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Apart from this, violators will also face legal action under section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and other legal provisions as applicable.

The Karnataka government has also announced a night curfew from Friday till August 16 in districts that share borders with neighbouring Kerala and Maharashtra to stop the spread of Covid-19. Both Kerala and Maharashtra are some of the worst-hit states across India and are seeing an increase in their infections daily.

“Movement of individuals will be strictly prohibited between Friday 9 pm to Monday 5 am except for essential and emergency activities,” a state government press release said, adding that all state and central government offices and their autonomous bodies, corporations dealing with the virus will be fully operational.

Karnataka has so far recorded over 2.9 million cases of coronavirus disease and 36,773 related deaths. The overall recoveries and active cases stand at 2,855,862 and 24,266 respectively, according to the health department’s bulletin.

On Saturday, 1,610 people were detected as Covid-19 positive while 1,640 patients recovered and 32 died. The positivity rate on Saturday stood at 1.08 per cent and the fatality rate was at nearly 2 per cent. Bengaluru Urban accounted for the highest number of cases for the day at 357, followed by Dakshina Kannada at 342 and Mysuru at 141 among others.

(With agency inputs)