BBMP: COVID-19 testing to be enhanced in RR Nagar after bypolls

BBMP to enhance COVID-19 testing after voting ends on Tuesday in RR Nagar. Voting percentage in RR Nagar stands at 7.1% until 9am.

Bengaluru: As nine wards in RR Nagar witnessed several campaigning activities during its run-up to the byelection the local civic body, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has decided to enhance COVID-19 testing after voting ends on Tuesday.

Confirming this to the media, BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said, "This area (RR Nagar) has witnessed a lot of crowding in the past few days. The number of positive cases in the zone has also comparatively increased. We do not want to take any chances and hence a special drive across the RR Nagar zone will be conducted and aggressive testing will be done."

The RR Nagar zone had accounted for 11 per cent of the new cases reported in Bengaluru on Monday, as per the BBMP COVID-19 bulletin.

Earlier, the civic body had deployed additional personnel from the BBMP Marshal team in the area to ensure bypoll campaigns do not lead to the spread of COVID-19 in the segment.

RR Nagar comprises Jalahalli, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Jnana Bharati, Kottegepalya, Laggere, HMT ward, Lakshmidevi Nagar, JP Park, and Yeshwanthpura wards and is one of the largest assembly sections in Bengaluru.

Special arrangements have been made for those who have been infected by the coronavirus and those suspected to be infected will be allowed to cast their vote between 5pm and 6pm today for the RR Nagar Assembly constituency.

According to the election commission and the BBMP officials the voting percentage in RR Nagar stands at 7.1% until 9am.