Palakkad (Kerala): With the relaxations on the initial COVID lockdown, the check posts at Palakkad district of Kerala along Tamil Nadu borders have ceased following the COVID safety protocols. Govindapuram is one among the main check posts connecting Palakkad district of Kerala with the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. People travelling from Pollachi, Pazhani, Madhurai and many other major towns and cities in Tamil Nadu enter Kerala through this check post.
Hundreds of vehicles pass through this check post every hour. However, as of now, no vehicle checking or monitoring of COVID precautions are being followed at this check post. Basic COVID regulations which are being implemented in Kerala - including whether the travellers in the vehicles travel by maintaining a prescribed physical distance, whether they use face masks, whether they have registered on Jagratha portal before entering Kerala, and such - are not monitored at all. Just one policeman has been deployed here.
The complacent attitude of the people who live along the border areas and the resultant lapses in enforcing the regulations are detrimental and dangerous to all people in the State. Many people here do not comply with the COVID rule of wearing masks while in public. Neither do they maintain a safe physical distance. Even bus drivers who travel from Tamil Nadu visit the shops and other establishments in Govindapuram area without even wearing masks.
There are private buses plying between Govindapuram and Palakkad town every hour. Even in these buses, many passengers are seen travelling without wearing masks. There are no police personnel deployed at the border here to check whether the travellers comply with the COVID safety norms. Such lapses from the government and the complacency among the public - both travellers and inhabitants in the border towns - in following COVID regulations will only lead to dangerous situations which might blow out of proportion.
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