All major tourist attractions in Mysuru including Zoo, Palace, Rail Museum closed

Mysore/Mysuru: The New Year’s first weekend curfew begins from 10 pm today and will be clamped till 5 am on Monday (Jan. 10). Severe restrictions have been imposed on movement of people, except in sectors exempted from the curfew — essential services, all industries, health, Government bodies, grocers and home delivery. Those working in these sectors need to furnish valid documents to have hassle-free movement.

The State Government had issued two orders, one that imposed night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am every day and weekend curfew that began from Friday 8 pm to Monday 5 am. Due to this, there was some confusion regarding the exact time when the weekend curfew would kick in — whether it is 8 pm or 10 pm.

However, the State Chief Secretary P. Ravi Kumar and also the Mysuru Deputy Commissioner Dr. Bagadi Gautham has clarified that the weekend curfew will begin at 10 pm on Friday and will be in force till Monday 5 am for two weeks, till Jan. 19.

This morning, the Government announced changes to its COVID-19 orders for the weekend curfew. In the new order, it permitted Engineering Colleges in Bengaluru Urban to hold offline classes and advocate offices and law firms to function with 50 percent capacity.

Major tourist attractions closed

Hours before the weekend curfew, major tourist attractions in Mysuru have announced closure of their premises. The Mysuru Zoo officials said that Zoo and Karanji Lake Nature Park will remain closed for visitors on Saturdays and Sundays (Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 and again on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16). However, the Zoo and the Karanji Lake will remain open Jan. 11 and 18 (Tuesdays) despite being a holiday for the Zoo.

The Mysuru Rail Museum will be closed on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 and on Jan. 15 and 16. However, it will be open from Monday to Friday, including Tuesday (Jan. 11 and Jan. 18), despite being closed holidays. The Mysore Palace that attracts thousands of visitors during weekends will be closed on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 and again on Jan. 15 and Jan. 16, confirmed Mysuru Palace Board Deputy Director T.S. Subramanya.

The Karnataka Exhibition Authority (KEA) is yet to take a decision on the on-going Dasara exhibition. Speaking to SOM, KEA Chairman Hemanth Kumar Gowda has said that they are bound to follow the weekend curfew guidelines and accordingly, the exhibition will be closed on Jan. 8 and Jan. 9 and on Jan. 15 and 16. “Weekends are the time when we get maximum crowds. A decision on suspending or postponing the expo will be taken in the due course of time. We have to abide by the rules and are also ready to suspend the expo if the Government issues orders. Safety of the people is more important,” he said.

Exempted services

The guidelines issued by the Government allow shops selling food, groceries, fruits and vegetables, meat and fish, dairy and milk booths and animal fodder to function. Street vendors will also be allowed to function on weekends. Public Distribution System shops are allowed to function and home delivery of all items will be allowed 24×7.

Patients and their attendants or persons requiring emergency need and eligible people intending to take vaccination will be allowed with valid proof.

During the weekends, industries, including IT, will remain exempted from the restrictions of the curfew and employees will be allowed to commute upon producing valid ID cards issued by their organisations.

Meanwhile, all State and Union Government offices and their autonomous bodies, corporations, etc, that deal with emergency services, essential services and COVID-19 containment and management duties shall be fully functional and officers or personnel shall be allowed unrestricted movement.

KSRTC to operate limited service

Both inter-State and intra-State travel has been allowed, all KSRTC buses will run with less frequency, only to cater to essential services. Air and train travel has been permitted and both public and private transport allowed to and from railway stations and airports, with valid travel documents by commuters.

Both Mysuru KSRTC City DC S.P. Nagaraju and Rural DC Srinivas confirmed to Star of Mysore that only limited service will be operated and buses too will be sparse. “If there are people we will operate any route and if there are no takers, then there is no point in operating services,” they said.