Four-state entry ban leaves Punekars to change home return travel plans
Each and every person entering Maharashtra needs to undergo a Covid test and only when his/her report is negative they will be allowed to enter, or else, if positive, will be sent to a Covid care centre, says state health minister Rajesh Tope
For Sagar Abnawe, a businessman from Pune, it was a shock to know that a “negative” Covid-19 test report was needed to return to Pune.
To avoid this trouble, Sagar travelled to Karnataka and entered Maharashtra via Belgaum.
Abnawe had gone to Goa for a holiday. Many holiday-makers are now altering travel plans to come back to Maharashtra from Goa, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Delhi NCR.
On Monday, the state government issued a circular regarding persons returning to Maharashtra state from these four states. It is now compulsory to do a Covid test before entering Maharashtra– road, railways or airways.
“I had come to Goa four days ago with four friends and we were about to return to Pune on Wednesday. We do not want to do Covid tests and so we are altering our travel plans. Now, we are going to Karnataka and via Belgaum we will cross into the state,” said Sagar.
Similarly, Niraj Patel, who went to see his relatives in Ahmedabad is thinking on same lines of altering the travel plans. “I have come to Ahmedabad for a Diwali vacation. I was planning to come back to Pune next week, but now due to this sudden new circular I am a bit worried now. I don’t want to do Covid test, as I am completely fine and so I have decided to travel to Madhya Pradesh to a friend’s place. And then, at Indore I will catch a private tourist bus to Pune,” Patel said.
Talking about this decision state health minister Rajesh Tope said, “The number of Covid positive patients is again on the rise in the state and so this decision has been taken for people coming from all these four states. Each and every person entering Maharashtra needs to undergo a Covid test and only when his/her report is negative they will be allowed to enter, or else, if positive, will be sent to a Covid care centre (CCC).”