VELLORE: If administrative barriers were not enough, Tamil Nadu is now putting up physical walls to prevent vehicles from Andhra Pradesh entering the state. Concrete walls have been constructed at the Synagunda checkpost near Gudiyattam and Ponnai (Mathungakuppam) checkpost near Katpadi to completely stop all vehicular movement from neighbouring Chitoor district in Andhra Pradesh.

R Balamurugan, tahsildar of Katpadi, said, “With the spread of virus being contained in Vellore district, no Covid-19 positive case has been reported since April 17.”

However, despite the prohibitory orders, controlling vehicular movements, especially two-wheelers coming from neigbouring Andhra Pradesh, proved to be a huge challenge. “So, to address this issue the Vellore district administration has constructed concrete walls at Synagunda and Ponnai checkposts,” he said.

Vehicles carrying essential commodities would be diverted to Paradarami andwould be thoroughly screened before being permitted to enter Vellore district, he said.

Public health officials, police and the district administration have stepped up vigil at four other interstate checkposts -- including Panthalapalli , Christianpet , Paradarami and Serkaddu -- to curtail unnecessary vehicular movements, Balamurugan said.

Vellore collector A Shanmuga Sundaram said, “Out of the 300 private vehicles which were deployed by the district administration to transport CMC hospital patients to their hometowns in Odisha , Bihar, Jharkand and West Bengal, and were stranded sans clearance from the patients’ home states, 100 vehicles have returned back to Vellore. Steps are being taken to release the remaining stranded vehicles and their drivers. We have also arranged special medical camps for the drivers near five major checkposts, including Serkadu , Chritianpet , Paradarami , Panthalapalli and Pootuthakku .”

Drivers who are returning back to Vellore will be subjected Covid-19 screening and will be quarantined at medical camps for about 24 hours till their tests results are declared. The ones testing positive will be immediately shifted to Government Vellore Medical College and Hospital and their vehicles will be sanitized,” he said.