BBMP Commissioner rescinds earlier diktat which had drawn public anger
But no respite from mask rule for bikers even where there is no pillion rider
BENGALURU:
Finally, common sense seems to have dawned on the authorities vis-a-vis the absurd mandate of face masks for motorists driving solo in their cars.
In a fresh ‘diktat’, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad has stated that a person travelling alone in his/her car is exempted from wearing a face mask/covering.
The official volte-face comes in the backdrop of an angry backlash by large sections of Bengalureans to the earlier BBMP order directing solo motorists to wear masks/face covers even if all the windows of the car were closed.
Subsequently, the BBMP chief had reverted to the Technical Advisory Committee on Covid guidelines, asking it to clarify whether a person driving alone in a four-wheeler with the window glasses closed should wear a mask.
Apparently taking a cue from the public backlash over its earlier position, the TAC, which met on Sunday, decided to ‘exempt’ persons travelling solo in a car with the window glasses rolled down from ‘masking up’.
Logic goes for a ride!
However, there was no such respite for two-wheeler riders travelling without a pillion rider. To Prasad’s query on that point, the committee responded (once again, illogically) with a bald ‘No’, deciding against any exemption from the mask rule for single riders.
It may be recalled that the TAC had earlier issued directions through the BBMP Commissioner to enforce the mask rule even for persons driving alone in their car with the window glasses closed.
