Kerala CM writes to PM Modi on Karnataka travel restriction

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, urging him to look into the restrictions imposed by Karnataka on passengers arriving from his state.

"Imposing restrictions of inter-state movement of people by states is contrary to instructions of Govt of India, which are at present holding the field," Vijayan said in the letter.

The Karnataka government has reinstated stricter control for people coming from Kerala in view of increasing Covid-19 cases there. To be allowed entry, the transit passengers will have to produce a negative RT-PCR test certificate taken not more than 72 hours before commencement of the journey, according to Karnataka government order.

The Karnataka government has sealed many roads, including national highways. health and police personnel are on duty at the four borders of Talapady in Mangalore taluk, Saradka in Bantwal, Nettanige-Mudnuru in Puttur taluk, and Jalsoor in Sullia, to verify test certificates.

Similar restrictions have also been imposed on people travelling from Maharashtra. Five checkpoints have been set up along the Karnataka-Maharashtra border that falls within the district of Kalburgi.

Vijayan, in his letter, drew attention to the “undue hardships” faced by students, patients going to Karnataka for medical concerns, and trucks carrying commodities, at the inter-state borders.

The Kerala chief minister concluded his letter by requesting the Prime Minister’s attention to the Karnataka government’s decision so that such hardships can be avoided.

Manipur on Tuesday too imposed restrictions on passengers travelling by air from Kerala and Maharashtra, by making testing on arrival mandatory at Bir Tikendrajit International Airport in Imphal from February 24 onwards.

Kerala recorded 2,212 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, marking a decline from the 4,070 cases recorded on Monday. The districts of Kozhikode registered the highest number of cases at 374, followed by the districts of Alappuzha (266) and Ernakulam (246).