Telangana struggles to stop influx of patients from Maharashtra, Karnataka

In fact, many of those who arrived from Maharashtra are undergoing treatment in the State, including hospitals in Hyderabad.
Telangana struggles to stop influx of patients from Maharashtra, Karnataka

HYDERABAD: There seems to be an influx of Covid-19 patients into the State from neighbouring states, particularly Maharashtra. Patients from towns and villages close to the border are arriving in large numbers and seeking treatment at local hospitals because of better medical infrastructure and facilities available in Telangana. 

Though some districts have taken steps to send back those arriving with Covid-19 symptoms, they have not been effective enough to stop the influx. In fact, many of those who arrived from Maharashtra are undergoing treatment in the State, including hospitals in Hyderabad.

For instance, Adilabad is affected by the patients who arrive for treatment at RIMS, which has a fair number of patients from Maharashtra. The district shares border with Chandrapur, Nanded, Gadchiroli and Yavatmal in Maharashtra.

Though the district administration has arranged for a thermal screening at Dowllara village on the border, it is not very effective and as a result, people have no difficulty in sneaking into Telangana. There is no check on passengers coming in private vehicles and buses since inter-state travel is not banned. 

As there is a ban on the sale of liquor in Chandrapur, people visit the Adilabad district frequently which is causing concern since no one knows who is bringing the virus.The situation is more or less similar in Jayshankar-Bhupalpally district which shares border with Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district.

Though some monitoring is being done, there was no foolproof method of checking the influx of the people from the neighbouring State. People from Sironcha in the Gadchiroli come to Bhupalpally for work and a number of Telugu people have also settled down in Gadchiroli.

In the case of Sangareddy, it has a problem from both Karnataka and Maharashtra. There are about 30 villages in both the states from where people keep coming into Sangareddy district for business purposes and there lies a potential threat. In fact, quite a number of people from these villages are going to Narayankhed government hospital and primary health centres for Covid-19 tests.

Also, many people from Narayankhed, mostly traders are contracting the infection when they visit Latur in Maharashtra. According to official figures, an average of 20 to 30 cases are being reported every day at primary health centres in Narayankhed, Kangti, Kalher and Manoor and some of them are those who are frequent visitors to Maharashtra.

District Medical Officer Dr G Gayatri Devi said that Covid tests were being conducted in all the villages bordering the two states as cases were on the rise in Maharashtra as well as Karnataka. She said the village sarpanch along with the village secretary, medical officer, ANMs have been alerted and every day they visit the villages and do the screening.

Residents of Nizamabad district, which has become a Covid-19 hotspot, blame Maharasthra for spike in cases. As there are no better facilities in Dharmabad, Biloli and Nanded, there is a steady influx of patients from Maharashtra into Nizamabad district. 

When it comes to the Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, the flow is from Chhattisgarh, Odisha and AP. According to Covid-19 nodal officer Dr G Chaitanya there were as many as 600 active cases in the district and every day 100 to 150 new cases are being reported, including patients from other states.

According to medical and health officials estimation, the virus is spreading fast because of the migration of people from Chhattishgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh where thousands of cases are being reported every day. The tide is on account of lack of check on borders.

With inputs from S Raja Reddy (Adilabad), P Krishna (Sangareddy), MVK Sastry (Nizamabad), U Mahesh (Warangal) and B Satyanarayana Reddy (Khammam)

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