Why Karnataka had to extend curbs

Bengaluru: Halfway through the first lockdown, the Karnataka government on May 7 announced fresh curbs which would come into effect from May 10. Experts say the government was left with no choice as even seven days after imposing a lockdown, the number of Covid-19 cases in the state did not show a downward trend.

The state on Saturday reported 47,563 new Covid cases and 482 deaths out of which Bengaluru alone logged 21, 354 cases and 285 fatalities.

Even senior cabinet members didn’t hold themselves back to acknowledge the failure of the lockdown. While announcing the fresh lockdown measures on Friday, Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa said: “Since the 14-day partial lockdown imposed by the state from April 27 failed to yield the desired result in containing the spread of the virus, we are forced to enforce stringent restrictions.”

A similar opinion was shared by the Karnataka health minister who said the lockdown has been a failure. “I needn’t say how this ‘Janata curfew’ has been ineffective with congregations continuing. The trend is not limited to Bengaluru; districts, too, have failed to see its strict implementation. The result is not to our expectation,” he told reporters on Friday.

So, where did the government go wrong? Several stakeholders responsible for enforcing the restrictions said that the lockdown was a knee-jerk reaction that was not well thought out. “For starters, the government didn’t call it a lockdown, and used terms like curfew, lockdown like restrictions, since it didn’t want to cause a panic. Looking at the measures implemented, it wasn’t a complete lockdown either. This showed that it was a half-hearted measure,” said a senior IAS officer on the condition of anonymity.

“The government allowed several industries, garment industries and private companies to operate during this lockdown. To give an example of Bengaluru, the Peenya industrial area alone employs close to 900 thousand people and close to 500 thousand people work in the garment industries. This a large population still roaming on the streets and many using this privilege for non-work-related activities,” said the officer.

A senior police officer in Bengaluru said that one of the biggest complaints received from various police stations was the overcrowding and travel between 6 am to 10 am window for buying essential services. “Even though the government had allowed people to purchase essential commodities, there were no restrictions on vehicle movement. People just assumed on their own that they had a free pass between 6 am to 10 am. When we stopped them, they would say they were going to shop,” said the deputy commissioner of police rank officer.

He further added that the number of exceptions in the lockdown rules made enforcement difficult. “Since there were several categories of the people who were allowed to travel, such as employees of various industries and offices, the numbers on the streets were large and it was difficult for the police to effectively enforce the lockdown,” he added.

The IAS officer said the big list of exceptions in the lockdown rules made it clear that the government wanted to please all. “The government extended the window for grocery stores from 6 am to 10 am to 6 am to 6 pm, is an example of non-commitment towards the lockdown,” he said.

Dr Giridhar Babu, an epidemiologist and member of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) also felt the containment measures in the state had failed. “The containment efforts are failing in Bengaluru. The test positivity and tests per million are inversely related. With raging infections, the testing per million is decreased over a period of time. At the same time, mitigation measures (irrespective of what we call whether curfew or semi-lockdown) are incomplete and ineffectively implemented. As a result, there is no benefit in reducing the speed of transmission. This is the opposite of what Bangalore model was known for,” he tweeted on Saturday.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on the fresh lockdown announced between May 10 to May 24. Unlike the first, in the second lockdown, there are restrictions on the movement of people between 6 am to 10 am the window to buy essentials. “Several people misused this and started moving around freely, leading to crowds on the streets. Since we raised an objection to this, the rules have been changed,” said the senior police officer.

In the fresh set of curbs, the government has banned people from using private vehicles to purchase groceries, parcels from hotels and liquor shops. The new lockdown mandates that it should be done by foot to avoid people travelling long distances during the window. Most importantly, all industries, garment factories and offices have been shut during this period.

“The strict implementation of the lockdown is key to controlling the spike in the Covid-19 cases in the state. We will know how serious the government and the people are about preventing the virus when we see the traffic on the roads from Monday,” said the member of the TAC.