Karnataka has reported more than 22,000 cases of COVID-19 in the past 72 hours
Bengaluru:
A day after Karnataka reported 8,906 Covid cases – the most in one day since mid-June – Congress launched a 10-day protest march – over a drinking water project – that drew a crowd of thousands in defiance of pandemic protocols, including the use of face masks and maintaining social distancing.
The March – titled ‘namma neelu, namma hakku, or ‘our water, our right’ – was led by opposition leader Siddaramaiah and head of state congress DK Shivakumar, who told DailyExpertNews “there is no corona … no disease (in Ramnagara district, where the padyatra was marked off)”.
“We are running for water. The BJP government wants to stop us… but there is no coronavirus here, no disease. They simply imposed Section 144 (to ban large gatherings) and said no one should enter this area,” he said. Shivakumar. told DailyExpertNews.
The march – which will cover 100 km in 10 days – started today despite the Karnataka government imposing a curfew in effect until 5 a.m. Monday.
Footage showed hundreds, possibly thousands, shoulder to shoulder under the hot sun, listening to speeches from political leaders. During the march itself, many disregarded social distancing standards and even fewer wore face masks.
As he marched on (wearing black sneakers for comfort), Mr. Shivakumar was also not wearing a face mask, despite being surrounded by people.
DK Shivakumar said BJP used Covid threat to suppress opposition voice
Karnataka has reported more than 22,000 cases of COVID-19 in the past 72 hours.
Ramnagara district registered 28 new cases on Saturday.
The district administration had previously notified Mr. Shivakumar requesting that he not violate the curfew, but the congress leader rejected the request and promised to continue with the program.
Mr Shivakumar said today that more than 100 MLAs and 200 ex-MLAs and ministers, as well as actors and religious leaders, either took part in the march or offered their support, and that the ruling BJP was using the threat of COVID-19 to attack the opposition. and suppress the concerns of the people.
“It will not happen. They (the BJP government) are only trying to create (fear). No disease has spread here…when the Chief Minister took an oath in the banquet hall, there were over 5,000 people. It didn’t spread there…why would it spread here?” he told DailyExpertNews.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has questioned the timing of the large congressional protest and warned of legal action if the rules are broken.
“During the coalition government (when Congress and the JDS were in power), DK Shivakumar was Minister of Water Resources… there was no initiation on his part then. No discussions were put on the table…” he noted.
The 10-day march is slated to end in Bengaluru, where the Covid positivity rate is already over 10 percent; the city reported troubling 7,113 new cases on Saturday.
The country has been trying to contain a terrifying rise in Covid cases in recent weeks, fueled in part by the more contagious strain of Omicron. Karnataka — which reported the first two cases of Omicron Covid in India in December — has 441 cases, behind only Delhi and Maharashtra.
