From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network 

Bengaluru, Apr 22: Home minister Basavaraj Bommai, who is also in charge of law and parliamentary affairs, has directed the Bengaluru city police commissioner and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner to conduct joint operations to take control of 50% of the beds in all private hospitals in the city for the treatment of Covid patients.

The home minister, who held a video conference with the BBMP and city police top brass on Thursday, expressed serious concern over the continued surge in the Covid positive cases in the city and stressed the need for carrying out joint operations to take possession of 50% of private hospital beds.

The private hospitals have provided 7,000 beds to the state government so far. There is a need for taking possession of another 4,000 beds in the private hospitals, the home minister said asking the city police commissioner and BBMP commission to deploy a deputy commissioner of police and BBMP joint commissioner to each of the eight zones in the city and form separate teams for carrying out the joint operation.

The eight teams must pay surprise visits to the private hospitals under their jurisdiction and ascertain the actual position, including total bed strength and unutilized beds to ensure that the state government was in a position to get 50% of the beds in each of the private hospitals, the minister said making it clear that chief minister B S Yediyurappa has ordered the step.

Bommai said the state was in need of beds equipped with oxygen cylinders and asked the teams to act swiftly.

Weekend Curfew must be implemented like lockdown

The home minister directed the police to ensure that the weekend curfew commencing from 9 pm on Friday must be implemented strictly in the same manner as the lockdown was enforced last year. The same strict measures must be following even during the night curfew till May 4.

Police must erect barricades on major and minor roads to regulate the movement of non-essential vehicles and prevent people from moving around without valid reasons. All persons found violating the restrictions must be dealt with without any leniency, the minister said asking the police not to hesitate tough action if the violators refused to listen to reason.

The minister said the police must get written undertakings from the management of Kalyan Mantaps and halls on adherence to the prescribed norms during wedding receptions being held during the weekend curfew. The choultries and Kalyan Mantaps found violating the norms must be closed down, he said asking the police to ensure that they ensure that the Covid guidelines and norms were strictly followed by everybody.

"There cannot be any exceptions. Our priority is to protect the lives of the people and help in the efforts to control the spread of the virus,’’ he said.