When the country went into a 21-day lockdown last week, as part of desperate and crucial measures to contain the spread of coronavirus, one promise was that the severe restrictions will not come in the way of people having access to food supplies and essential medical care. Understandably, these are not normal days, and inconvenience with respect to daily life is a given. But there’s a need to intervene when certain sections are unfairly inconvenienced. That’s what the Kerala High Court did when, on Wednesday, it asked the Centre to ensure removal of blockades on highways connecting the state with Karnataka.
The order couldn’t have come a day sooner as the blockades imposed by Karnataka, as part of actions to enforce the lockdown, had denied people from Kerala’s Kasaragod district access to hospitals in Mangaluru. So far, seven people have died due to non-availability of medical care after they were prevented from entering Karnataka. Kasaragod, identified as a hotspot of COVID-19 infections in the country, having reported 129 cases so far, is a relatively underdeveloped region.
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People here have no option but to depend on Karnataka for secondary and tertiary medical care. It’s this crucial lifeline that was cut when all across-the-border movements were blocked. While directing the Centre to intervene, the court also told Karnataka it can’t ignore the fundamental rights of people of Kerala. Karnataka’s reservations about opening borders when it is fighting to contain the virus are understandable. It is certainly duty-bound to protect its people from infections, but on humanitarian grounds at least, it must consider giving people from across the border access to its hospitals.
The fact is Kerala is solely responsible for not ensuring better healthcare facilities in Kasaragod. But this is no time to point fingers. Karnataka can employ all measures it deems necessary to make sure that only genuine cases are allowed to pass through, but it must lift the blockades so that more people don’t die for want of medical attention.