• Order in force: From May 29 till June 7
• Jurisdiction: Mysuru District and City
• Essentials purchase: Monday & Thursday only
• Shopping window: From 6 am to 12 noon

Mysore/Mysuru: With Mysuru not seeing any respite in mounting COVID-19 cases despite the slashing of RT-PCR testing by half and in spite of State Government’s lockdown decision, Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri, in her capacity of District Magistrate and the Chairman of District Disaster Management Authority, has further tightened the lockdown by allowing only two days a week — Monday and Thursday — to purchase essential commodities from 6 am to 12 noon. 

This order will be implemented from May 29 (Saturday) till June 7 (Monday), 6 am. Even banks and insurance sectors have been allowed to function on Monday and Thursday from 8 am to 12 noon. 

The orders were passed by the DC this morning, with the powers bestowed under Disaster Management Act 2005. Standalone milk booths, medical services, HOPCOMS outlets and Fair Price Shops have been exempted from this rule. The rest remains closed. The entire district, including the city limits, will be bound under the order. 

During the period of restriction, only goods vehicles and medical supplies vehicles will be permitted entry and exit and all other vehicles have been barred from getting onto the roads. Violators of lockdown rules will be punished under the relevant provisions of Disaster Management Act 2005 and Indian Penal Code (IPC), the DC said in her order. 

The decision to enforce stricter lockdown comes in the wake of Mysuru witnessing over 2,500 COVID positive cases per day and yesterday, it reported 2,792 cases. The city alone contributed 1,752 cases. Even the death rate has increased with a daily average of more than 13 persons dying. Yesterday as per the media bulletin released by the District Administration, 14 persons lost their lives. 

Taluks too have been reporting a steady number of cases with Mysuru Taluk yesterday reporting 389 cases, H.D. Kote reporting 71, Hunsur 119, K.R. Nagar 138, Nanjangud 106, Periyapatna 120 and T. Narasipur reporting 97 positive cases.  

The DC’s order mentions that the tougher measures have been taken to break the COVID chain and to control the surging cases. The decision has been taken after obtaining the feedback from District Task Force, Taluk Task Force and also reports from Tahsildars. The consensus was to restrict all the other services except essential services and also to allow essential purchase only for two days a week, Rohini Sindhuri stated in her order. 

The Police have been asked to make announcements at all public places and vantage points to publicise this order and also warn the public that violators will be punished under the provisions of law.

District Minister appeals for co-operation

Mysuru District Minister S.T. Somashekar has appealed to the people of the district to comply with the DC’s order. In a message from Bengaluru, the Minister said that these restrictions allowing only two-day purchase window from 6 am to 12 noon was inevitable in the wake of surging COVID cases. 

“It has become compelling for the administration to impose tougher restrictions till June 7. If the present number of cases keeps increasing, it will be difficult for the administration to manage and the situation will go out of hand. It is out of public interest such a decision has been taken,” he said. 

Somashekar has appealed to the people to maintain decorum while purchasing goods on Monday and Thursday and asked them not to crowd the markets in the name of purchasing. “Gathering of a large number of people at any given purchase place to indulge in panic buying will spoil all the efforts of the administration to control the disease and one must maintain social distancing and wear masks,” he added.

10-day rule at a glance

• Exempted: Standalone milk booths, medical services, HOPCOMS outlets, Fair Price Shops 
• Banks and insurance open on Monday and Thursday from 8 am to 12 noon
• Only goods vehicles and medical supplies  vehicles will be permitted
• Violators to be booked by Cops under Disaster Management Act and IPC