Tamil Nadu government decides to resume bus services to Puducherry from July 12

As a part of the fresh relaxations under the ongoing 'unlock' exercise, the Tamil Nadu government on Saturday announced that the bus services to neighbouring Puducherry would be operational from July 12 onwards.

Representational Image (Credits: PTI)

New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday (July 10, 2021) announced that the bus services to neighbouring Puducherry would be operational from July 12 onwards. The decision comes as a part of the fresh relaxations under the ongoing 'unlock' exercise. The government also added that retail outlets would be permitted to be open till 9 pm in the state now. 

The state government said restaurants, shops and a variety of other retail stores that were previously allowed to function till 8 pm "with 50 percent occupancy rider," would get an additional hour from Monday (July 12, 2021).

As per the latest order, competitive exams for central and state government services shall be permitted in the state. 

The official release also state that schools, colleges, zoos, cinemas, bars and swimming pools would continue to be closed down. Also, social, political, sports, entertainment and cultural events would remain prohibited as before.

The cap on wedding attendees will remain at 50, whereas the limit has been set at 20 for funerals. 

Tamil Nadu clamped a lockdown from May 10 to combat the second wave of COVID-19 and from last month phased relaxations were provided in lockdown norms corresponding with a decline in virus cases.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu on Saturday reported 2,913 new COVID-19 cases, which include those of five returnees from other States, the Health Department said. The new figures pushed the total infected so far to 25,16,011. Over forty-nine deaths on Saturday took the toll to 33,371 in the state.