The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) on Monday said that students from outside Bengaluru residing in PGs or hostels should be asked to leave the city if their institutes declare holidays in view of COVID-19 cases. The city's civic body issued an advisory asking students to leave. The advisory also stated that overcrowding of rooms is strictly prohibited. "A living space of 110 sq feet shall not accommodate more than two persons at any point till the outbreak subsides," read the advisory. The BBMP clarified in its advisory that no one will be forced to move out of their accommodations. "At no point, occupants shall be forcibly thrown out of PGs/hostels without giving prior notification and giving them adequate time to arrange for alternate accommodation," read the advisory.
It warned that strict action will be taken on owners and managers if there is an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in hostels or PGs and reiterated that keeping the facility clean is the owner or management's responsibility. The advisory comes after the Karnataka government announced lockdown relaxations from June 14 in 19 districts in the state including Bengaluru Urban while continuing the lockdown as it is in the other 11 districts. The current rules are in place for a week till June 21.
Karnataka has steadily reported a drop in COVID-19 cases in the past month with the state reporting 6,835 COVID-19 cases on Monday including just 1,470 in Bengaluru. In another advisory issued by BBMP, auto and taxi drivers were asked to ensure that there were only a maximum of two customers in their vehicle at all times. The advisory asked the drivers to continue maintaining COVID-appropriate protocols. Advisories were also issued for protocols to be followed by resident welfare associations (RWA), closed workspaces, parks and retail shops across the city.