BENGALURU/T’PURAM: Prathap Simha, BJP MP from Mysuru-Kodagu, has urged Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to direct his officials not to interfere in the closure of the Karnataka-Kerala border to contain the spread of COVID-19. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his urgent intervention on the issue of Karnataka roads that border Kerala.
Pinarayi requested the Prime Minister to intervene in the matter to ensure smooth flow of essential commodities to Kerala at a time when the state is fighting COVID-19 on a war footing. In his letter, the Chief Minister said that the Karnataka police blocked Thalassery-Coorg state highway 30. The road connects Kerala with Coorg in Karnataka via Virajpet.
This route is a lifeline for the flow of essential commodities to the state. “If this is blocked, vehicles carrying essential commodities will have to travel a longer route to reach the state,” said Pinarayi. “Given the situation of the nation-wide lockdown, this will add more hardship to the people,” he said, adding that no action impeding the movement of essential commodities should be initiated at the moment of crisis. However, Simha, in a tweet, urged Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa to direct chief secretary Vijay Bhaskar not to intervene in this matter.
“The chief secretary is bowing to pressure from Kerala. We at Kodagu, all the elected representatives, have decided to close this route. There are many cases in Konnanuru in Kerala, and by opening up the roads, we are bringing in danger,’’ he said.