Coast keeps up supply of essentials to North Kerala

TNN | Apr 16, 2020, 04:37 IST

Essential commodities from Karnataka, on their way to Kerala, at the Talapady border

Mangaluru: Supply of essential commodities from Karnataka to Kerala, despite the temporary closure of the border at Talapady, is going on unhindered. The northern parts of Kerala are getting regular supplies of items through the checkpost at Talapady in Dakshina Kannada. The district administration has ensured that the decision by the state government to close the border does not deprive Kerala of its rightful share of essential items.
The dust is settling on the other issue that was the bone of contention between the two states – emergency medical treatment for patients from Kasaragod in medical facilities in this coastal city, and the administration is keeping a strict vigil on both these issues. Kasaragod and Malabar regions of Kerala depend on the state for their essential supplies, including rice, cereals and pulses. Coastal Karnataka sources copra, coconut oil and rubber sheets from Kerala.
Dakshina Kannada deputy commissioner Sindhu B Rupesh said that there have been no issues in the movement of essential commodities to Kerala through Talapady on NH-66. Section 2 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897, that the state government issued on March 31, has only barred the movement of patients across the state borders in view of acute shortage of healthcare facilities in the state. This order has not hindered the movement of essential commodities.
Aiding the district administration in this endeavour is the Old Bunder Wholesale Kirana Merchants Association. “We have adhered to the direction that the district administration has given us on ensuring supply of essential items to Kerala,” said Panduranga Bhandarkar, president of the association. Incidentally, the wholesale sub-market here is the main source of commodities for Kerala and places in North Kerala, up to Payyanur and Kannur, used to get commodities from here.
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, the lone petrochemical complex in Karnataka, is catering to the fuel requirements of North Kerala. Bullet tankers carrying LPG to bottling plants to North Kerala, and fuel tankers are transporting petrol or diesel there, which are being moved from the refinery at Kuthethur, on a routine basis. Oil marketing companies in Kerala source their products from MRPL, albeit not at the scale they used to earlier, a MRPL functionary said.