Temples, malls reopen in Bengaluru; confusion over pubs

The third phase of Unlock in Karnataka, starting Monday, includes the opening of temples, malls and bars. Pubgoers, however, have to wait.

The bar and restaurant industry said it is yet to receive official notification about serving liquor up until Sunday night.

Manu Chandra, president of the National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI), Bengaluru Chapter, said, “There is some ambiguity as the order says pubs should remain closed and bars and restaurants could open. There are people who have dual licenses (pubs and bars and restaurants). We are going to wait till Monday morning for the notification and decide what to do.”

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On Sunday, priests started sanitising temple premises to welcome the public.

“We will allow only four devotees at a time to maintain social distancing. We have also instructed our priests to wear masks at all times and keep sanitisers inside the premises,” said K S N Dixit, president, Akhila Karnataka Muzrai Archakara Okkuta.