E-Paper
Protests continue at K’taka borders over Covid-19 curbs
Interstate commuters from Kerala continued with their protests over travel restrictions imposed by the Karnataka government at the border areas on Monday
Interstate commuters from Kerala continued with their protests over travel restrictions imposed by the Karnataka government at the border areas on Monday.
The Karnataka government on Saturday had made RT-PCR negative report mandatory for those entering the state from various entry points. The restrictions had sparked protests among a section of the population from Kerala, for whom Mangaluru is the closest city. Despite the protest, the Karnataka government has continued the restrictions as the number of cases in the border district of Dakshina Kannada are on the rise.
For the residents of Kasaragod in Kerala, Mangaluru city in Dakshina Kannada is a lifeline. Even though Mangaluru and Kasaragod are on either side of a map, they are closely knit, say local residents. “Mangaluru is the closest city to Kasaragod. From anywhere in Kasaragod, Mangaluru is just 10-50 km away. At the same time, the closest city in Kerala, Kannur, is more than 100 km away,” said Prakash Manjeshwar, a resident of Manjeshwaram, in the northern tip of Kasargod.
The district administration however claimed that Dakshina Kannada district had a 60% increase in Covid-19 cases in the past two weeks. On July 25, the district had reported 2,010 active cases, however, the number rose to 3,294 by August 7. Out of these cases, 2,376 were reported during the last week.
The state reported 1,776 new cases on Monday, taking the active caseload to 23,316. Bengaluru accounted for 296 new infections, taking its active cases to 8,378. The only other state to have recorded cases in triple digits was Dakshina Kannada which recorded 273 cases taking the active cases in the district to 3321. As many as 30 fatalities were reported across the state on Monday, which took the state’s toll to 36,817.
“Compared to other districts there is a rise in Covid cases in Dakshina Kannada district. Interstate travel is the main reason for it. We are not opposed to people traveling to Mangaluru for work, we are allowing them to enter by showing an RT-PCR test report that is one week old. We are also not stopping any medical emergency. We don’t want people coming to the city to visit malls and other non-essential activities,” said Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner K Rajendra, who said the restrictions will continue.
The protesters also questioned the validity of the demand for RT-PCR tests for those who have been vaccinated. With Karnataka government imposing severe restrictions at borders, they argued that the Supreme Court has directed states not to interrupt interstate movement.
“The central government has already directed that those who have taken two doses of vaccine should not be prevented from interstate movement. Hence, Karnataka chief minister Bommai should review his decision and allow people from Kerala, who have received both doses of vaccine, to enter Karnataka,” one of the protestors told the media.
Meanwhile, Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said he has decided to visit all the border districts of the state that have reported a surge in Covid-19 cases and review the situation there in the days to come. “I will be traveling in Mysuru district today. I will have a discussion with officials on the Covid situation there. In the same way, I have decided to visit all the border districts, where there are more Covid cases,” he said.
