Police seal entrances to Puducherry to stop people from TN sneaking in during lockdown
PUDUCHERRY: All entrances to Puducherry from Villupuram and Cuddalore through village roads were sealed on Thursday to prevent the entry of people from Tamil Nadu.
This was in response to Chief Minister V Narayanasamy asking the police to get tough on people entering from Tamil Nadu. The Chief Minister has advised the police to invoke stringent and deterrent provisions of the state and central laws against those entering the Union Territory from outside during the lockdown.
Presently, the two neighbouring districts of Tamil Nadu have reported a significant number of COVID-19 cases. Tamil Nadu is also in second position after Maharashtra in the number of COVID-19 cases.
The Tamil Nadu government is struggling to contain the spread and the Puducherry government cannot remain slack and has to take stricter measures to prevent the spread of the infection, he said.
Around 20 such roads connecting Puducherry with adjoining villages of Villupuram were barricaded by the PWD, along with 10 roads connecting Puducherry with areas in Cuddalore district.
While the barricading would prevent vehicles from entering, people on foot would be prevented from crossing over by volunteers from the village who would work in tandem with police, said Superintendent of Police (West) Ranganathan. Already, volunteers have taken up the task in some villages while others are being enrolled to work in liaison with the concerned police stations.
Police personnel have been posted at the barricades at entry points from Cuddalore district. Private security guards as well as NCC volunteers are also assisting the police in preventing the entry of people from Tamil Nadu, said Superintendent of Police (West) China Godantharaman.
“We are allowing authorized people and vehicles to cross only on Puducherry-Cuddalore main road. Several persons working in Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Research Institute and Arupadai Veedu Medical College in Puducherry but residing in Cuddalore and other areas in the district, are being allowed to come and go”, he said.
However, intermittent areas in Tamil Nadu like Reddichavady, Kottakuppam and several others remain a challenge. Besides, there are roads where the eastern part is in Puducherry and western part in Tamil Nadu, like Thirukkanur main road, through which people can sneak in despite the vigil.