Members of Kerala’s Kasaragod district unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday staged a demonstration in protest against Kasaragod district administration’s continued curbs on inter-State movement of people at the Kerala-Karnataka border. They demanded that the curbs be immediately lifted in line with Union Home Ministry’s direction and said that continued curbs on people affected hundreds of workers travelling between Kasaragod and Dakshina Kannada.
Assembling on the Kerala side of the Talapady check-post under the leadership of Kasaragod BJP president K. Shreekanth, party workers removed barricades at the Kerala check-post. Later, they also removed barricades at the check-post in Tuminad near Manjeshwar. The members raised slogans against the Kerala government for what they called an anti-people move.
Addressing the protesters, Mr. Shreekanth said that the Kerala government was violating the Union Home Ministry’s direction to ensure unhindered movement by compelling people entering Kasaragod to undergo 14 days home quarantine and asking them to produce COVID-19 negative certificate for issuance of daily pass.
Rebutting Kerala government’s claim that many daily travellers between Mangaluru and Kasaragod tested positive for COVID-19 to substantiate continued curbs, Mr. Shreekanth said that only five out of the over 5,000 daily travellers tested positive for the disease. Moreover, none of the students from Kasaragod who appeared for the Class 10, II PU and Common Entrance Test in Dakshina Kannada had tested positive for COVID-19 back home, he pointed out. Restrictions on people’s movement are affecting the livelihood of thousands, he said.
The Kasaragod Police arrested the BJP activists on the charge of violating orders passed under the Epidemic Diseases Act.
New order
Meanwhile, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra on Tuesday issued an order stopping registration on Seva Sindhu portal, hand stamping, checking at entry points and other procedures followed for those entering the district as per a State government directive.
In a notification, Dr. Rajendra said that those entering the district need not undergo 14 days home quarantine if they did not have COVID-19 symptoms. If they develop fever and other symptoms within 14 days of their arrival, they can consult a nearby health facility or call the helpline on Ph: 104.
If they have symptoms at their time of arrival, they should undergo home quarantine and follow necessary treatment protocols. The district administration will carry out extensive awareness campaign about self-reporting of COVID-19 symptoms and self-home isolation, he said.