Police and civic officials started enforcing the 8 p.m. curfew on Monday. In most areas, police were on patrol since evening asking shops to shut down at 8 p.m., even making announcements on public address systems mounted on Hoysalas.
The State government recently changed the night curfew deadline from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m. in view of rising number of COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, especially in the city.
Police ensured that autorickshaws, cabs and other services were mostly off the roads before the deadline. Traffic police barricaded all flyovers in the city. This led to traffic jams for several kilometres on key arterial roads, like Mysuru Road, which took hours to be cleared.
In residential areas, vehicles were being checked and motorists were asked the reason for being on the road.
Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said enforcement of the new curfew deadline was successful. “Almost 85% of the city was shut down shortly after the deadline. We have decided not to book cases for two days to create awareness of the new norm. But going forward, we shall book cases and seize vehicles of motorists violating the curfew without a valid reason,” he said.
The night curfew will be in force till 5 a.m. The State government has also announced reintroduction of lockdown on Sunday from July 5.
