The sun beats down, but policemen in Jogulamba-Gadwal district, one of the eight COVID-19 hotspot districts in the State, continue their foot patrolling along the 50-km stretch of Krishna riverbed here.
As part of a special drive to check the movement of migrant workers and to stop locals from going to neighbouring Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh, 45 policemen are patrolling the Krishna riverbed on foot, having noticed the movement of people here earlier.
About 130 migrant labourers have already been apprehended and sent back to wherever they had come. The riverbed in the district, now dry, touches AP and Karnataka, which makes the job of policemen here even more challenging. Constantly monitored by Superintendent of Police Apoorva Rao, the teams keep a distance of five metres from each other, walking in a straight line rather than in groups, in keeping with social distancing norms.
Eye in the sky
Though the task is ‘something new’ for the force here, thanks to the vast and open stretch of dry riverbed here, the patrolling cops are able to spot people from afar. However, they have support in the form of drones, with drone operators alerting the ground staff about the presence of people, especially when found in large groups.
People in Gadwal share a very old and deep relationship with Kurnool. A lot of people travel to Kurnool from here even for the smallest of their needs, Ms. Rao told The Hindu.
“It becomes an exacting task for us to keep a check on so many people who constantly try to escape our eyes to cross the border. However, thanks to several recent measures, we have been able to bring down the movement of people, with minimal violations being reported now,” she said.
Violations down
Alampur Circle Inspector M. Venkataramiah, who is in-charge of the patrolling team, said that each team, comprising an SI and four constables, walk for at least 10 km every day to curb the illegal movement of people, especially migrant workers, who choose cross-country routes to reach their destination during the lockdown. “Initially, when the lockdown was announced, the movement of people crossing the inter-state border was high, but gradually it has come down. Now we catch four or five people per day, but the operation will continue, as many a time they come in a group of 25 to 30 people,” he said.
Once caught, the police will provide water and food to the migrant workers and send them back in an empty goods vehicle. “In the first week of April, we noticed a group of 25 people were on their way to Chhattisgarh from Tamil Nadu. They were on foot. We intervened and sent them back to Tamil Nadu in a goods carrier,” Mr. Venkataramaiah said, adding that they also stop people from Gadwal district who want to go to Kurnool through internal routes.
