Adherence to protocols can avoid lockdown, say coastal Karnataka industry bodies

Industry bodies from coastal Karnataka feel that night curfew in the region can be a forewarning of things that may come to pass and adherence to Covid-19 protocols can help avoid any lockdown in the region.

The Karnataka government has imposed night curfew from 10 pm to 5 am in eight cities/towns of the state with effect from April 10. These include the coastal towns of Mangaluru, Udupi and Manipal.

Isaac Vas, President of Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), told BusinessLine that night curfew serves as a precursor ti things that may come to pass. “A day curfew or a lockdown may stare at us if we become complacent and not follow strict preventive protocols,” he said.

To a query on the impact of night curfew on the industry, he said night curfew may result in slight inconvenience to industry but may not cause any major issues in terms of production. The third shift of workers in different industrial establishments can be accommodated within the timing, and production will not suffer.

However, he said, all the measures related to logistics such as highways need to be kept open for transportation to ensure seamless industrial production and distribution.

Jeevan Saldanha, Chairman of the Mangaluru chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said night curfew is a necessary temporary measure considering the steep increase in cases and the reluctance of the public to follow the Covid-19 protocol of social distancing as well as proper use of masks.

He said the night curfew may help in preventing a total lockdown in the region. A total lockdown will cause a lot more damage to the economy and hardship to the citizens, he said.

BA Nazeer, President of Canara Plastic Manufacturers’ and Traders’ Association (CPMTA), said that since the plastic packaging industry comes under the essential services category, it may not be affected by the night curfew. However, the problem will be the movement of labour after second shift. There won’t be much problem from night curfew, if the movement of labour and transport is allowed for the industries, he said.

However, he suggested that it is essential to ban the large gatherings of people in various functions. This will help bring down the spread of Covid-19 to a great extent, he added.