K’taka Village Defies Social Distancing, Govt to Take Stern Action
Thousands of residents of Ramanagara, outside Bengaluru, gathered for a fair with no regard for social distancing.
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In total neglect of social distancing norms to curb the spread of COVID-19, scores of villagers of Kolagondanahalli in Ramanagara, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, gathered for a village fair on Thursday, 14 May.
Permission for the religious gathering was reportedly granted by the Panchayat development officer NC Kalmatta, according to news agency ANI. The officer has been since suspended by the Ramanagara Deputy Commissioner following a report by the tehsildar.
Temple priest Chikka Bore Gowda was arrested on Friday afternoon after being reportedly booked under IPC sections 188 (disobeying order issued by a public servant) and 269 (negligent act leading to spread of infectious disease)
Ramanagara is presently a green zone, as per government data. The district administration said that the event was conducted had been conducted without their knowledge.
The gathering in honour of goddess Maramma was reportedly attended by hundreds of people, standing close together with no regard for social distancing norms. No masks were seen in the footage from the event, as villagers carried thalis with offerings to the deity.
Recently, hundreds gathered in Madhya Pradesh’s Sagar district on Monday, 11 May, to celebrate the arrival of a Jain monk, despite MP being one of the worst-hit states by the coronavirus.
In Karnataka, 1056 cases of COVID-19 have been reported so far, with 36 deaths. The state government on Thursday, sent back returnees to Karnataka back to Delhi, after they refused to enter institutional quarantine, and made a fuss at the Bengaluru city railway station.
‘Stern Action Will Be Taken’
Reacting to the village fair, Karnataka deputy chief Minister and Ramanagara district-in-charge minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan told ANI, “Stern action will be taken against the person responsible for organising the festival. This should not have happened.”
(With inputs from The News Minute)
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