Thiruvananthapuram: Last month when north Kerala district Kasaragod turned a virus hotspot, Karnataka closed its borders with Kerala, forcing the latter to take the inter-state issue to the Supreme Court . Now, Kerala has closed its borders with Tamil Nadu .
Many human rights activists and others have criticised the state’s double standards. The issue took a serious turn last week when a patient from Tamil Nadu died after Kerala police turned away the ambulance carrying him. The ambulance driver later said he literally begged officials at the check post to save the life of the patient. It’s easier for many patients in Tamil Nadu’s border areas to go to Kerala’s large cities (which are close-by) for treatment.
Thiruvananthapuram district collector K Gopalakrishnan said he was not aware of the case and that usually ambulances and trucks carrying essential supplies do not face any problems at the borders. A senior police officer said many ambulances were smuggling people into the state and this might have forced officials to deny permission to the vehicle carrying the patient.
A government sokesperson said Krala was forced to take strict action after people who returned from Tamil Nadu fell ill. He cited the case of a Kulathupuzha resident who tested positive after his trip to Tamil Nadu to attend a function. At least 15 of this person’s primary contacts have been quarantined and a complete lockdown was imposed on three neigboring villages Thenmala, Aryankavu and Kulathupuzha.
{{/usCountry}}A government sokesperson said Krala was forced to take strict action after people who returned from Tamil Nadu fell ill. He cited the case of a Kulathupuzha resident who tested positive after his trip to Tamil Nadu to attend a function. At least 15 of this person’s primary contacts have been quarantined and a complete lockdown was imposed on three neigboring villages Thenmala, Aryankavu and Kulathupuzha.
{{/usCountry}}“Some of the southern districts of Tamil Nadu depend on Kerala for medical needs. There are many instances that serious patients were turned away at the borders. When Karnataka closed its border Kerala made it a big national issue. Sad, now Kerala is resorting to the same tactic. If the situation continues like this we will move the court,” human rights activist P Selvaraj said .