Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has appealed to citizens to voluntarily participate in the ‘Janata Curfew’ on March 22. For the most part, Bengalureans are ready to follow the suggestions that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made when he addressed the nation on Thursday.
Public transport services in the city are likely to get disrupted. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has taken a decision to close operations while Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will operate minimal services.
In Bengaluru, only 20% of the buses – around 1,200 – will be operational on Sunday while on Saturday, BMTC will operate only 50% of its fleet. “We are an essential service in the city and we cannot completely stop it. However, minimum bus service will be provided on Sunday. A further decision on cancellation of services will be taken depending on the patronage we receive,” said a BMTC official.
BMTC, KSRTC incur loss
In the last couple days, the co rporation has drastically reduced operations due to poor ridership. On Friday, more than 1,500 buses remained off the roads. BMTC’s revenue losses touched ₹6.1 crore since March 1.
On Friday, the KSRTC cancelled 1,385 services and incurred a revenue loss of ₹10.86 crore since March 1. More than 49,000 people have cancelled bus tickets that they had booked online.
Several Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and gated communities have decided to practice ‘Janata Curfew’. Some have issued guidelines to observe self curfew, and have requested the occupants not to get deliveries from outside, including newspapers.
They have recommended that maids and helpers be allowed to take the day off. Some have taken it a step further and plan to lock the gates from morning to evening.
Vikram Rai, general secretary of Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF), said, “Though the call for such a self curfew is symbolic, it is our responsibility to reinforce the importance of social distancing at such times and self isolation, if necessary,” he said.
