Karnataka government may opt for lockdown in Tier-II cities too
BENGALURU: The government is hoping to plateau the Covid case spike in Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural with a week-long lockdown, and is watching uneasily as numbers continue to rise in Mysuru and other small towns. The urban development department (UDD) is now considering drastic measures in the smaller cities.
UDD minister Byrati Basavaraj told TNIE that the department is closely tracking the numbers in all the CMCs, and agreed that the spike in Mysuru is worrying. In cities like Kalaburagi, Belagavi and Hubballi-Dharwad, the rise in numbers is being monitored both by the UDD and district authorities. Hubballi-Dharwad City Corporation commissioner Suresh Itnal said the number of cases in Dharwad is smaller compared to Hubballi. The authorities got 77 positive cases on Saturday in Hubballi, and till 4 pm Sunday, they had 59 cases.
“Of the 67 wards of Hubballi, we are getting high numbers from only 10 wards, while in 30 wards, the numbers per ward are below 3 and are not worrying. These are the ones that need attention,’’ he said.
He said that in a city like Davanagere, they could keep the numbers under check through strict monitoring, and dealing with the cases proactively. The number was restricted to 30-40 cases per day for the whole district.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa is due to hold a video conference on Monday with the district authorities, to deal with these issues. There has been pressure on the UDD to clamp a lockdown in these cities too, because the caseload is shooting up. Basavaraj agreed that there is a worrying spike in numbers and a lockdown for a certain period of time, even a fortnight, could be considered in consultation with the state government. He said he would visit Mangaluru, Udupi and Karwar on Monday and Tuesday, and check out the position at ground zero in these cities, and take up the issue with Yediyurappa.