Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala High court has directed the Centre to intervene and remove the blockade erected by Karnataka on the national highway connecting Kerala.
The court in its order said it should be done without any further delay to facilitate the free movement of vehicles carrying persons for urgent medical treatment across the border between the two states.
The division bench of the High Court said, "We may reiterate that we expect the central government to act expeditiously in this matter, taking note of the human lives that are at stake."
The petition was filed by the Kerala High Court Advocates' Association.
When the nationwide lockdown began, the Karnataka government had blocked the NH and even arterial roads connecting the states. They blocked the roads by putting sand and even ambulances were not allowed to cross.
The people of Kasargod district depend on Mangaluru for medical purposes mainly due to the distance. Several patients who require weekly dialysis and cancer patients being treated in Mangaluru are not able to cross the border and go to Karnataka. There were reports of people losing their lives as they were not allowed to cross the border. A pregnant lady delivered in the ambulance after being turned away at the border.
The order states that the arterial roads connecting Mangaluru to Kasaragod are part of the National Highway network and the Centre must ensure they are kept blockade-free .
"No doubt restrictions may be imposed in times of a national emergency such as the present, but when the guidelines issued by the central government under the Disaster Management Act itself permits travel for urgent medical treatment, then the said guidelines have necessarily to be enforced by the central government through the removal of the blockades that prevent such travel," it said.
After the border was blocked by Karnataka, Kerala chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had twice written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi agaisnt the blockade. He had mentioned the medical emergencies as well as the need to bring essential commodities to the state.
Vijayan earlier told the media that he had tried speaking to his Karnataka counterpart, but couldn't.
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