The Congress Member of Parliament from Kasaragod, Kerala, which is one of the hot-spots of the coronavirus outbreak in the country has approached the apex court seeking directions to the Karnataka government to open Karnataka-Kerala border for the movement of ambulances, other emergency vehicles and for the transport of other essential and non-essential items to Kerala.

Congress MP from Kerala’s Kasaragod, Rajmohan Unnithan approaches Supreme Court seeking directions to Karnataka govt to open Karnataka-Kerala border to allow movement of ambulances & other emergency vehicles and for the transport of essential and non-essential items to Kerala. pic.twitter.com/FwTlsoVD0j — ANI (@ANI) March 30, 2020

The petition filed by Unnithan sought directions to Karnataka to allow the movement of ambulances, emergency vehicles, trucks and other vehicles carrying essential and non-essential items to Kerala. It also sought to put a stay on the blockade imposed by Karnataka with its border states. The petition said that the enforcement of a blockade at a critical time like this when the supply of commodities is scarce and when a medical emergency has plagued the entire country is a clear violation of Articles 21 and 19(d) of the Constitution.

“This blockade has also resulted in cutting off the essential lifeline of National Highways and State Highways and Major District Roads leading to the State of Kerala which has resulted in the shortage of supply of essential and non-essential items to the State of Kerala leading to shortage supply of food and medical supplies,” the plea said while seeking a stay on the blockade from the Supreme Court for the movement of ambulances and essential items between Kerala and Karnataka.

The number of coronavirus cases in the country is on a steady rise with Kerala being the worst-hit by the contagion and alone contributing 194 to the nationwide tally of 1071. Most of the cases registered in Kerala have a travel history to middle-east countries, particularly to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.

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It is noteworthy to mention that Kasaragod has emerged as one of the hotbeds of the coronavirus outbreak in the country. A couple of days back, 34 news cases of COVID-19 were registered in the town in a single day, surpassing the previous high of 28 cases, raising alarms for the state administration.

With the coronavirus cases soaring, state governments across the nation have mandated state-wide lockdown of cities, towns and villages, along with state borders, to curb the insidious spread of the deadly contagion that has so far affected 721,000 people globally and rendered about 25000 dead.

On similar lines, Karnataka has sealed its borders as the tally of coronavirus patients increases. Reacting to the alarming surge in the number of the cases of the enigmatic contagion in the neighbouring state of Kerala, Karnataka has fortified all the entry/exit points between Manguluru and Kasaragod, to prevent any influx of people from Kerala and stave off a crisis as faced by the Uttar Pradesh government after migrant workers in Delhi congregated at the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border.

