B’luru slowly returning to normal amid phased Unlock 1.0
Bengaluru: After completing more than two months of lockdown, the city is slowly returning to normal with a good number of businesses offering services on the first day of Unlock 1.0 or phased relaxation of lockdown norms on Monday.
“Nearly 6 lakh people had used the city buses by Saturday, after slowly starting with 1.6 lakh commuters on May 19,” the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) spokesperson told IANS.
On the first day of Unlock 1.0, BMTC pressed 75 Volvo city buses into service. Similarly, the South Western Railway (SWR) zone will be operating 200 services starting Monday.
“KSR Bengaluru-Hubli Janshatabdi left at 6 a.m. from the KSR Bengaluru station,” said a railway zone spokesperson.
Likewise, from Monday, the SWR has given access to journalists to better cover its operations and services, including allowing the electronic media to shoot videos.
However, all the media personnel must wear masks and should not board the trains.
Meanwhile, passengers have been advised to bring their own food as pantries will not be functioning and vendors will also be absent from the trains.
As a sign of resumption of economic activities, the railway zone has transported 100 units of KIA Seltos sports utility vehicles from Penugonda in Andhra Pradesh’s Ananthapur district.
“The consignment is booked from Penugonda to Farkhanagar near Delhi. After a first NMG rake was loaded in the morning, a second rake was also loaded with the Seltos SUVs,” said the official.
Likewise, the railway zone has witnessed more than 70 per cent reservation for long distance trains such as Sampakranti, Rajadhani, Sangamithra and Goa-Nizamuddin.
The Hubli division of the railway zone has seen 5 per cent improvement of freight loading. It included food grains, coal, fertilisers, petroleum products, LPG, cement and iron ore, among others.
Similarly, the number of people resuming daily activities such as morning and evening walks has increased.
On Monday, a few traffic intersections have witnessed jams, such as the Vatal Nagaraju road.
A good number of shops and business establishments opened for business on Monday. However, heavy rains in the evenings almost everyday are disrupting activities for some hours.
Karnataka government has allowed all activities to operate outside the Covid containment zones with immediate effect, except some such as religious places, hospitality industry, shopping malls, among others, which will be opened in a phased manner.
