More than 1,000 stuck at Telangana-Andhra border as Covid-19 lockdown dash hopes to get home

india

Updated: Mar 26, 2020 10:37 IST

More than 1,000 people who set off from Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, to various districts in Andhra Pradesh were stranded on Wednesday at the Garikapadu border check-post as the police refused to allow them passage due to lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus disease Covid-19.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramana Murthy said since the lockdown was in force and the inter-state borders have been sealed, no vehicle or person could be allowed into the state.

The panic-stricken passengers were huddled in a group as they awaited some intervention from authorities to end the impasse.

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The passengers, including students, women and children, set off from Hyderabad in cabs after obtaining special travel permits from the local police.

After a smooth ride up to Garikapadu, the vehicles were stopped around 3.30 pm, leaving the passengers stranded.

A person said he was travelling with his wife, who was nine months pregnant, after a medical check-up in Hyderabad.

“Despite our situation, the police are not willing to let us travel to our destination,” he said.

The Andhra Pradesh government or the police were yet to take a decision on the stranded passengers when reports last came in on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, two fresh cases of Covid-19, including a three-year-old boy, have been reported in Telangana, taking the total number of people infected with the virus in the state to 41, according to a government bulletin on Wednesday.

The other case is a 43-year-old woman from Hyderabad city who is “the family/primary contact of a previous positive case”, it said.