BENGALURU: With the State Cabinet set to discuss measures to be taken to contain the Covid spread, industry leaders have urged the government to enforce the guidelines strictly and not impose more restrictions as industries are yet to fully recover from the impact of the lockdown.
The opposition Congress said the government should look at measures taken in other states before issuing any guidelines.
“It is good if they only ensure strict enforcement of the Covid guidelines, including wearing masks and maintaining social distance, as small-scale industries are yet to fully recover from the impact of the lockdown. Nearly 20 per cent of micro and small-scale industries have closed down and now, if they impose more restrictions, another 20 to 30 per cent of them will close,” said Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association former president R Raju.
According to Raju, small-scale industries are struggling to break even due to an increase in fuel prices and other factors, and too many restrictions will not be good in such conditions.
I S Prasad of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) said there is no threat to businesses as 99 per cent of those working in industries are vaccinated.
The government is very proactive in taking measures and holding consultations with the industry, he said.
KPCC state president D K Shivakumar said unnecessary fear should not be created about spread of the Omicron variant and, while issuing the guidelines, the State Government should look at measures taken in other states.
He said the government should give compensation to people who suffered losses.
After Covid clusters were reported in educational institutions in parts of the state, the government issued guidelines restricting the number of people attending any programme to 500 and directed educational institutions to postpone all programmes till January next year.