Karnataka govt proposes to modify road restrictions on Kerala border

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, Mar 05, 2021:      Days after announcing travel restrictions on people coming from Kerala, the Karnataka government said that it was proposing to modify these. The government said this to the Karnataka High Court after the court said that inter-state roads cannot be blocked, reports Live Law.

 

The restrictions were put in place on account on account of the high number of COVID-19 cases reported from Kerala despite the numbers going down in most of the other states.

The Karnataka High Court however observed that the Union government’s guidelines prohibit such restrictions on inter state travel.

A division bench led by Chief Justice of Karnataka, Abhay S Oka and Justice Viswajith Shetty, said, "If you want to create infrastructure for checking of reports etc you can do it. Otherwise you cannot simply keep the roads closed like this. Create infrastructure and allow."

The Union Government’s Counsel also said that there shall be no such restrictions. "It is clearly stated in the guidelines, there shall be no such restrictions, they have to keep roads open. As far as testing is concerned that only district authorities can take a decision, there is no restriction for movement of any person. The order issued is extended till March 31."

As of now, passengers are allowed with negative RT-PCR test results through the checkposts of Thalapady, Nettanige, Monala, Mudnooru, Jalsoor, Saradakka in Kasargod district. Other border check posts are closed.

In the last week of February, several political parties near Talapady had protested against the Karnataka government’s order restricting travel. This includes the Youth Congress, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), All India Youth Federation (AIYF) and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). After the protests, the government did not implement strict regulations in Talapady.

Last year, when a blockade was imposed by the Karnataka government on Kerala border, the Kerala High Court had intervened and the Advocates Association directed the Union government to open the roads. It was observed that the blocking of roads would infringe on right to health of those in Kasargod who relied on Mangalore hospitals for treatment.

Courtesy:The News Minute