No extension of Bengaluru lockdown beyond 22 July, clarifies new BBMP commissioner

Amid the rising coronavirus cases in the city, Bengaluru's newly appointed civic body commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad said Sunday there was no question of extending the ongoing week-long Bengaluru lockdown, which is imposed till 22 July, in the city.

The clarification came in the backdrop of speculations that the city's lockdown might get extended by another week as a measure to contain the virus spread there.

"The Chief Minister has made it clear that the lockdown will not be extended for any reason, after Tuesday there will not be any lockdown. We will follow the government's orders. There is no question of lockdown," Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad told reporters, according to news agency PTI.

The comments came just a day after the Karnataka government ordered the transfer of B.H. Anil Kumar as commissioner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP, the city civic body) after he made a comment on extending the lockdown in the state capital city.

"In my personal opinion, the lockdown should be there for at least 15 days to break the cycle," he said on Friday.

"BH Anil Kumar, Commissioner, Bruhat Bengaluru, Mahanagara Palike, Bengaluru has been transferred with immediate effect and posted until further orders as Additional Chief Secretary to the government, Department of Public Enterprises, Bengaluru in the upgraded post of vice Smt V Rashmi Mahesh, IAS transferred," read a notification from the Karnataka State Government.

Yediyurappa had on Friday said lockdown was not the solution for controlling Covid-19 and made it clear that there was no proposal before the government to extend it.

Till Saturday, with 4,537 new cases, Karnataka clocked a record single-day jump in new coronavirus cases on Saturday. The state's overall tally reached 59,652.

The state capital Bengaluru accounted for 2,125 of the 4,537 new cases. This is the third straight day the city saw over 2,000 cases.

Amid these rising cases in the tech hub, the state government holds inter-state travellers responsible for the spurt in infections, saying those from hot spot states like Maharashtra could have brought the infection. State Minister for Medical Education K Sudhakar said there was no community transmission of the pandemic, adding if it were to be the case, the number of infections would be running into 'lakhs.' Sudhakar, in-charge of Karnataka vis-a-vis COVID-19 management, told PTI the spurt in cases was bound to happen, but said the government's "vigilant approach" has slowed down the spread of the virus by two months in this city.

With inputs from PTI