KASARAGOD: On Monday, Karnataka police deployed an earthmover to dig a trench on the Kotekar-Mariashram Church road near Thalappady to prevent residents from Kasaragod from entering Dakshina Kannada.
But the police were stopped by residents led by Congress leader from Kasaragod Harshad Vorkady. "The Karnataka police were digging the road right in front of the Lady of Assumption Church which is in Kerala," said Harshad.
The police told residents that they were digging on the instruction of the tahsildar of Kotekar urban panchayat in Dakshina Kannada.
When they demanded the presence of the tahsildar, the police contacted the official who told them to stop trenching the road.
By then half the breadth of the road was dug up. "They put the earth back in the trench and leveled the road and left," the Congress leader said.
He said Karnataka officials were not aware of the roads in the area. "The road they were digging up was going to the Thalappady river. There was no bridge there and so there was no need to dig the road in the first place. Second, it was in Kerala," he said.
The Karnataka government made negative RT-PCR results mandatory for entering the state even for those who are fully vaccinated from Monday. The new rule created tension on the border. Hundreds of people from Kasaragod were sent back by Karnataka police at Thalappady.
The government gave exceptions to students writing exams and patients coming in ambulances.