Karnataka: Relief for businesses in 14 districts, but Bengaluru stays shut

BENGALURU: Karnataka has further relaxed lockdown rules for businesses and industries in 14 districts in a graded opening up of the economy that has been under siege for about five weeks now owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 14 districts include chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s native district of Shivamogga and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy’s district Ramanagara, besides Udupi and Kolar.

According to an order issued by chief secretary TM Vijay Bhaskar, these districts can resume industrial operations outside the city municipal limits.


These districts though do not have any significant manufacturing base, and have agro processing units, which are anyway exempt from the lockdown.

The relaxation is, however, not applicable to eight districts that have reported a significant number of coronavirus positive cases. These include Karnataka’s growth engine of Bengaluru Urban, tourist hotspot Mysuru, and north Karnataka hubs of Belagavi and Kalaburgi. Tuesday’s order also brings no relief to Bengaluru tech hubs — Electronic City, Mahadevapura and Whitefield — as the city is considered a Covid-19 hotspot.