Karnataka government has on Thursday evening withdrawn its earlier order to impose a night curfew across the state which was to be implemented from 11 pm tonight. The Chief Minister's office said that the decision was withdrawn after "reviewing the situation on the suggestion of Technical Advisory Committee".
"Night curfew order, issued earlier, has been withdrawn after reviewing the situation on the suggestion of Technical Advisory Committee," ANI quoted Karnataka Chief Minister B.S.Yediyurappa's office.
Earlier in the day, Karnataka Health Minister K Sudhakar had defended the government's move to impose night curfew from December 24 till January 1 in the state, saying it was done on the advice of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for COVID-19.
Speaking to reporters, he said, "TAC had recommended imposing night curfews from 8 pm onwards as a precautionary measure. However, after much deliberation we decided to restrict movement of individuals from 11 pm to 5 am."
The Karnataka government had on Wednesday decided to impose night curfew to contain coronavirus, especially when the world is rattled with the emergence of a new strain of coronavirus emanating from the United Kingdom.
Terming the night curfew as a measure to 'cover up' wrongdoings of the BJP government by diverting public attention, Congress state chief D K Shivakumar had said, "This is a government which is not accountable. It tries to divert public attention through various means."
"How does the night curfew help containing the coronavirus?" Shivakumar asked.
Meanwhile, the neighbouring state of Maharashtra has already imposed a night curfew from December 22 to January 5.
