Concerns over violation of COVID-19 norms during Congress padayatra

Thousands throng Sangam to join the march

Being held in the midst of a spike in COVID-19 cases across the State, the Congress padayatra on Sunday flouted COVID Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) as well as the weekend curfew in place, heightening fears of the spread of the pandemic. The State Government, which had so far threatened action against the violators of COVID norms, looked mute in its response to handle the situation.

Despite appeals by the BJP Government, which had threatened to stop the padayatra, the Congress had remained adamant about taking out the march. It had said it would strictly follow CAB. However, it turned out to be a nightmare as thousands thronged Sangam and joined the padayatra.

While Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah urged the workers to wear masks and gloves, and threatened to throw out those not following the guidelines, KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar, whose brainchild is the padayatra, was seen moving around without a mask. Though most leaders on the dais were seen with masks, thousands of workers who participated in the padayatra, did not wear masks and given the huge surge of crowd, social distance norm was thrown out of the window.