Barricade Roads, Stop Issuing Travel Passes, Karnataka DGP Tells Bengaluru Cops After Traffic Snarls in City

After Bengaluru city in Karnataka yesterday witnessed a traffic snarl even when the lockdown restrictions are in place in the state till May 3, the Director General of Police (DGP) Praveen Sood took Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao to task and directed him to put stringent lockdown measures in place to avoid unnecessary movement of people and vehicles on roads.

"Suddenly large movement of vehicles were noticed. The barricades which had effectively enforced lockdown till yesterday, have suddenly disappeared. Even where barricades are existing, there are no policemen and officers to check and enforce passes, I am surprised where traffic officers, who anyway are not engaged in law and order duties, are?" the DGP wrote on Monday to Rao.

He further said, "To enforce lockdown effectively, checking of passes should be intensified. Passes issued by outstation officers like DCs, SPs of Districts if noticed should be seized and action initiated. Effective barricading should be done even if it leads to road blocks. No more e-passes or paper passes should be issued unless specifically instructed.”

The Karnataka government had initially allowed partial relaxation in Covid-19 lockdown restrictions but later reviewed the same due to the surge in positive cases of the virus and withdrew all such orders maintaining status-quo. Such repeated U-turns by the state government led to the confusion among public.

On Monday, Congress MLA Krishna Byre Gowda tweeted a picture of traffic in Bengaluru amidst lockdown, asking the state government and Centre to speak in one voice. The lockdown is put in place across the country to contain the further spread of novel coronavirus.

With the lockdown in place, the DGP has asked for emergency day passes (returnable) to be given to people with genuine request at the police station level and ordered that except some tolerance during the morning/evening of movement to/from office hours, rest of the day/night there should be zero tolerance for unnecessary movement of vehicles.

Existing e-passes and paper passes or passes issued by other departments for official duties/NGOs (for distribution of food only) will remain valid. In addition, certain categories of people like government officials, doctors, nurses, paramedics, essential goods, bankers etc. are eligible to travel without pass with their valid IDs.