Oppn tears into BSY govt over Ramanagara fiasco

This, former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said, was a result of the government’s “foolishness” to lodge high-risk contacts from containment zones. 
Social distancing goes for a toss as government employees cram themselves into an autorickshaw on their way to work in Bengaluru  | Nagaraja Gadekal
Social distancing goes for a toss as government employees cram themselves into an autorickshaw on their way to work in Bengaluru | Nagaraja Gadekal

BENGALURU: Special KSRTC buses, manned by personnel in protective gear, brought back the 126 people accused of the Pandarayanapura violence from Ramanagara jail to Bengaluru on Friday. The government’s quiet attempt at damage control after shifting the accused from a containment zone in Bengaluru to ‘Green Zone’ Ramanagara came after five of the 126 detainees from Pandarayanapura tested positive for Covid-19.  Amid an uproar by the Opposition and people of Ramanagara, all the accused, including the five patients shifted earlier, were packed into buses and sent back to be quarantined in Bengaluru. Ramanagara prison authorities too were quarantined, giving rise to fears of possible Covid cases in a district which had not reported a single case so far. 

But even after moving the accused to Bengaluru, the government’s headache was far from over. While the opposition lashed out at them all of Friday morning, BJP MLA from Yelahanka, Vishwanath, staged a protest in Bengaluru against the decision to quarantine the accused at a private hotel in his constituency. The MLA and his supporters staged a sit-in outside the hotel, demanding that the accused be moved out.  The repercussions of lodging the accused from the containment zone in Bengaluru at Ramanagara are already showing. The state government eased restrictions on rural industries in nine districts unaffected by the virus, but Ramanagara was excluded.

This, former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said, was a result of the government’s “foolishness” to lodge high-risk contacts from containment zones.  Opposition leaders accused the government of a lack of foresight for ‘infecting’ a clean district. “People of Ramanagara are paying the price for the government’s stupidity. I had opposed moving the accused from Bengaluru to Ramanagara the very first day. Despite assuring me that they will reconsider the decision, the Chief Minister and home secretary went ahead with the move. The entire jail has to be sealed off and police personnel quarantined.

The government’s lack of foresight has put the lives and livelihood of people of Ramanagara at risk. People will never forget the foolishness of the government and the officials,” said an enraged Kumaraswamy. He said the Ramanagara DC well as senior police officers were forced to accept the accused from Bengaluru without proper protective equipment. While transporting the accused to Bengaluru on Friday morning, all safety measures were taken, including PPEs for drivers and police personnel. 

Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Health Minister B Sriramulu defended the move. “There was no ill-intent in moving the accused to Ramanagara. After Kumaraswamy raised objections, we are moving them back to Bengaluru,’ said Sriramulu, while accepting that the JDS leader’s concerns were justified.
“The accused were tested in jail and those who tested positive were moved to Victoria Hospital and other institutions for isolation in Bengaluru. There was no lapse on the part of the home department,” Bommai said. 

Congress MP DK Suresh, who represents Bengaluru Rural, demanded the resignation of Ramanagara district in-charge minister and Deputy CM Dr C N Ashwathnarayana. “How did the district in-charge minister allow these accused to be sent to Ramanagara without testing them first? Local police have travelled with them and, after 48 hours in the jail, five people have tested positive,” he lashed out.
Ashwathnarayana said this is  not the time to politicise a healthcare crisis. “All inmates were sent to Ramanagara after screening. We could not have lodged them in Bengaluru Central jail. Jail authorities were trained to handle the inmates and social distancing norms were maintained,” he said.

Ashwathnarayana, responding to KPCC chief D K Shivakumar’s tweet, said the Congress allegations were immature. “Why did the State Govt move Corona +ve people from a Red Zone to a Green Zone ensuring COVID reaches new geographical areas of Karnataka? Will CM @BSYBJP and the District in-charge Minister answer?” Shivakumar had tweeted. Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar questioned JDS leaders’ intent. Sudhakar took potshots on Twitter, “Former PM has no opposition to people from Kasargod crossing over to Karnataka for treatment in Mangaluru. People who wrote to PM over the matter are today asking brothers from Pandarayanapura not to enter Ramanagara. How fair is this? Does State mean just Ramanagara district?”

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