Karnataka Government Withdraws Night Curfew Day After Announcing It

The state government had announced a night curfew starting Thursday from 11 pm to 5 am. This was to end at 5 am on January 2.

Just six hours before it was to be imposed on Thursday, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa withdrew the night curfew.

“Based on experts’ opinion, it was decided to impose a night curfew aimed at curbing the spread of the new Covid-19 strain detected in Britain and other countries. However, in the wake of public opinion that a night curfew is not necessary, it has been decided to withdraw it after discussions with Cabinet colleagues and senior officials,” the Karnataka Chief Minister said in a statement.

Urging citizens to impose self-restraint by wearing face masks and ensuring social distancing, Mr Yediyurappa asked citizens to avoid “unnecessary” travel and strictly follow Covid-19 regulations of the government “to help stop the spread of the virus.”

The state government had announced a night curfew starting Thursday from 11 pm to 5 am. This was to end at 5 am on January 2.

However, the decision to withdraw the night curfew has been seen as another U-turn by the Karnataka government. The Chief Minister, on Tuesday, said a night curfew was “not needed right now”. In contrast to his statement, he announced the imposition of a statewide night curfew on Wednesday as per advice from the Government of India and the Technical Advisory Committee. Even after that, after first announcing that the curfew would start on Wednesday night itself from 10 pm to 6 am, the decision as later changed to Thursday, from 11 am to 5 am.

Siddaramaiah, the Leader of the Opposition, said the decision to impose a night curfew itself was amusing. “Except private vehicles, the government allowed buses, taxis and autos to ply. This is the decision of a mad government,” he said.