Centre Identifies Three Red Zones In Karnataka, Stranded Migrants From Outside To Head Back To Villages

Around 100 state-run buses are expected to run which will limit the capacity of passengers from 55 to 30 to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Bengaluru: Workers from North Karnataka, who were stranded due to the nationwide lockdown, leave in a special bus from district collector office after the government allowed people to travel to their respective destinations with certain conditions amid the coronavirus pandemic, in Bengaluru, Thursday, April 30, 2020. (PTI)

New Delhi, May 2: After the Centre has designated all major metropolitan cities including Bangalore as red zones with the nationwide lockdown being extended to May 17, the Karnataka government has given the permit to allow stranded migrants to travel back to their villages from outside. The Union health ministry has designated three districts of Karnataka- Bengaluru urban, Mysuru and Bengaluru rural- in the red zone. In a meeting held through video conferencing on Saturday, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa reviewed the current situation of Covid-19 during the discussion with district ministers, MPs, MLAs and district collectors of selected districts. Those migrants coming from outside and traveling to respective villages in a state-run bus will pay for one way fare, informed Karnataka’s chief minister office according to ANI.

After the state government has allowed a one-time movement of stranded persons to reach back to their native places, a large number of people have already started gathering at Bengaluru's Majestic bus terminal. “We are planning to operate around 100 buses depending upon migrant labourers showing up at the bus stop. Our bus passenger capacity is 55 but we operating with 30 passengers only after health checkups,” Central Traffic Manager, Operations, KSRTC, Bengaluru, Karnataka said to ANI.

Both Bengaluru urban and rural areas including Mysuru have been designated as red zones. The government has also instructed on necessary actions that should be taken in red zones as part of containment action plans. Of the total 30 districts in Karnataka, three districts are in red zone, 13 in orange and 14 in green. The state has reported 24 new cases confirmed on Friday, of which eight are from Mandya district, according to PTI. Three of the patients have travelled to Mumbai while five caught the infection from Covid-19 patients. The other six patients belong to Davangere, three from Raibhag in Belagavi, two each from Dakshina Kannada and Kalaburagi, and one each from Vijayapura, Chikkaballapura and Hubballi. India has reported 2,293 new cases and the death toll has increased by 71 in the last 24 hours. This is by far the highest number of cases reported in one day, according to the Ministry of Health and Family.