The Chamarajanagar district administration has ordered the reopening of tourist places and rescinded its earlier directives forbidding hotels, resorts, and homestays from accepting reservations and bookings.
Chamarajanagar is known for its forests and has Bandipur, BRT Tiger Reserve, and M.M. Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, apart from drawing pilgrims to the Male Mahadeshwara temple. Safaris will be offered only on half the carrying capacity of the vehicles, according to officials.
The orders, which came into immediate effect, was issued late on Friday evening and Deputy Commissioner M.R. Ravi said the Sunday lockdown would, however, continue with the associated restrictions. He said the reopening was necessitated to give a kickstart to the district’s flagging economy.
Soon after the unlocking began in June, there was a surge in tourists visiting Bandipur and other places of interest, following which restrictions were clamped again in the wake of a surge in COVID-19 cases. However, Mr. Ravi said it was imperative to protect the economy.
Temple tourism at M.M. Hills was not affected by the earlier orders as the authorities had put in place measures to ensure social distancing. Also, the number of active COVID-19 cases in the district was 170 as on Saturday, and hence there was no need for a prolonged lockdown of tourist places, officials said.
