Karnataka on Tuesday issued fresh orders on relaxation of the lockdown and the opening of shops and industries, but the new relaxations will not apply to the cities of Bengaluru and Mysuru.

The relaxations will be brought in 14 districts, including Kolar, Udupi, Ramnagara and Hassan, where shops will be allowed to open as per the MHA order of April 25.

The Karnataka order also lets industries operate in rural areas and allows manufacturing and other industrial establishments in SEZs to run in these districts.

The MHA order on Saturday had allowed opening of shops in residential complexes and market complexes outside of cities, standalone shops and residential complex shops within municipal corporations, allowing them to run with 50 percent of the workforce.

In the districts on Bengaluru Urban, Mysuru, Belgavi, Lakburgi and several others, the restrictions as per the state revised guidelines of April 22 will continue without any change. In other districts such as Mandya, Bellary, Bengaluru Rural etc, decision regarding opening of shops and industries in COVID-free areas will be taken by the minister in charge of the district.

Bengaluru and Mysuru have seen among the highest cases of COVID-19 in the state, with the district of Bengaluru Urban recording 134 positive cases so far, while Mysuru has seen 89. The total cases in Karnataka stood at 520 as of Tuesday, including 198 discharges and 20 deaths.

The state government had brought out revised lockdown guidelines on April 22, allowing restricted activity in certain sectors, including for construction activity and MNREGA work. The government also allowed IT companies to operate but only with minimum essential staff, despite the MHA allowing 50 percent workforce at IT companies.

Karnataka also allowed construction of roads, irrigation projects, buildings and all kinds of industrial projects, including MSMEs, in rural areas, and all kinds of projects in industrial estates where workers are available on site.

It also allowed metro rail construction projects where workers are available on site.

Some of the other relaxations include MNREGA work, with priority for irrigation and water conservation, allowing self-employed service providers such as electricians and plumbers to work in their local areas.

Other services, such as agriculture, health and manufacturing and movement of essential goods will continue to run as it did so far.

First Published:Apr 28, 2020 3:01 PM IST