BENGALURU: Bengaluru witnessed another round of exodus on Monday, following the state government’s announcement of a week-long complete lockdown from Tuesday night due to surge in Covid-19 cases.
The exodus has led to concerns that the pandemic may also hit villages.
According to KSRTC, more than 30,000 people left on Monday. They plan to run 1,000 buses on Tuesday. Besides, thousands of people had booked goods vehicles and left the city.
Last week, thousands of people left the City, following which Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had appealed to the people not to leave Bengaluru.
But Revenue Minister R Ashok said that people who want to leave Bengaluru should leave before Tuesday to avoid inconvenience due to the impending lockdown, and DCM and Transport Minister Lakshman Savadi said that the KSRTC will run its buses to facilitate people travelling from Benglauru to other districts.
Nagarathna, a garment factory worker who was going to her hometown Channarayapatna in Hassan district, said, “I have a job but it’s not fetching me enough money to live in Bengaluru. I have not paid the rent for four months. Also, I am worried as the pandemic is spreading. I will return to the city once everything returns to normal.”
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As thousands left the city on Monday morning, traffic was hit on Tumakuru Road, Mysuru Road, Hosur Road and Hyderabad Road.
Many vehicles were stuck at toll gates and the staff there allowed all vehicles to go to clear the traffic.
More than 2,000 taxi and private cars were seen in traffic and there was a 2km-long pileup at Navayuga toll near Nelamangala.
Some passengers got down their vehicles and walked to cross the toll. Sharadamma, a resident of Peenya Dasarahalli, said, “We hired a taxi to go to our hometown Shira in Tumakuru and left home around 6 am. It took us one hour to pass the toll gate.”
People headed towards Hosur, Mysuru and Anantapur (AP) said that they had plans to leave the city on Sunday itself, but they could not do so due to the curfew.
Meanwhile, the social media was abuzz with the exodus from Bengaluru. Many expressed concern that people leaving Bengaluru might spread the virus in the villages, which lack medical facilities to treat Covid-19 patients.