As a move to prevent people in both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka from crossing the inter-State border in Ramapuram village, Talavadi Hills, revenue officials, along with the police department, have installed a gate at the check post and kept it locked.
Chamarajanagar in Karnataka, is located 20 km from Talavadi in Tamil Nadu, and people frequently go there for work and medical emergencies. Coconut tree climbers and farmers from villages in Chamarajanagar district come to Talavadi for work and to sell their produce.
Due to the COVID-19 lockdown, security has been intensified at the border, located about 2 km from Talavadi. Recently, Chamarajanagar reported its first positive COVID-19 case, after which there have been a spike in cases.
Hence, to prevent the entry of people from Karnataka, the gate was installed at the village on Friday and is kept locked. “The lock will be opened only for ambulances to enter Karnataka,” said a senior police officer. He said that to prevent the unauthorised entry of people and also vehicles, roads that connect the two States have been dug up at six places.
Apart from the upgraded primary health centre in Talavadi, emergency cases are referred to the government hospital in Sathyamangalam which is located 62 km away. Hence, people usually preferred going to Chamarajanagar, which is closer, for treatment. The police said that ambulances are allowed to cross the check post round-the-clock while people are not allowed, from Saturday onwards.
A farmer, S. Manickam of Talavadi, said that so far no COVID-19 cases have been reported in Talavadi hills and fear has gripped people as more cases are being reported at Chamarajanagar. “People frequently cross the border without e-passes despite police monitoring,” he said.
