Officials stopped around 70 labourers who tried to enter the district through minor village roads, at Murugod village near Nippani Saturday night.
They had passes issued by the Pune municipal corporation and some district officers but they were not tested for COVID-19.
They had come in two buses from Pune and nearby areas. As many as 22 passengers alighted from one bus in Linganur village and 37 got down from another bus near Murgod village. They walked around 10 kilometres to reach Nippani town, after avoiding the interstate border check post.
When a villager noticed this, he informed the police. The police found out that they had no documents on having been tested for COVID-19. Officers have stationed them in a school in Murugod village and provided them food. Some of the labourers have taken shelter under trees on the roadside.
The workers, including women and children, are from Raichur, Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Bagalkot districts.
Shankarappa Yamanappa, one of the labourers, said they had walked from Pune and nearby areas to Karnataka. “Maharashtra officers stopped us near Kagal village. They made us get into buses and dropped us at the border,” he said. He demanded that the Karnataka government should help them reach their villages.
“We have not made any mistake. We only demand that we should be sent home,” he added.
