A few dozen Keralites who reached the Walayar check-post at the district border without valid passes were sent back by the authorities on Monday. However, there was a fall in the number of people who returned to Kerala from other States.
District Collector D. Balamurali said those who reached the border without passes until Sunday had been cleared. An understanding has been reached between the Kerala and Tamil Nadu authorities on permitting the movement of Keralites returning home. Only those with passes issued by the State authorities are being allowed to proceed to Kerala border. Until 4 p.m. on Monday, 1,345 Keralites returned home through the Walayar border.
At Talapady
From the Talapady check-post, 285 Keralites entered the State on Monday. The Kasaragod district administration had issued 642 passes. Around 15 persons arrived at the check-post without passes. Most of them had applied, but were yet to receive confirmation.
District Collector D. Sajith Babu has asked the District Police Chief to stop those trying to enter Kerala illegally. He said certain groups were helping people sneak in through the border areas in Karnataka.
The interstate border at Inchivila witnessed the entry of 211 Keralites, including 113 women, on Monday. These included 200 people from Tamil Nadu, eight from Karnataka, two from Maharashtra and one from Puducherry. While 44 people came from red zone areas, all except one person were sent home where they will be required to quarantine themselves. One person was sent to the corona care centre in Mar Ivanios College hostel after he told the authorities that there were no facilities for self-isolation at his house.
Youth arrested
As many as 350 persons on 150 vehicles crossed the Muthanga interstate check-post on the Kerala-Karnataka border till 8.30 p.m. on Monday. The police arrested a 22-year-old man for crossing the Muthanga check-post with a fabricated document. Akhil P. Regi of Chungathara in Malappuram was arrested while he was crossing the border along with his relative, a 16-year-old boy, on a motorbike, sources said. The duo had been issued a pass to enter through Talapady check-post on May 13. Regi was released on a self-bond. The juvenile would be produced before the Child Welfare Committee.
(With inputs from Thiruvananthapuram, Kasaragod, and Wayanad)
