It has not been an easy task for officials, police personnels, and volunteers at the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border check-post on Hosur Road, near Attibele, who are inspecting and permitting vehicles to cross the border round the clock.
An official on duty at the check-post said there was high traffic for three days from June 1, when institutional quarantine was done away for inter-State returnees, except Maharashtra. “Now, the traffic is getting back to normal and we are vigilant,” the official said.
However, there are allegations of people entering the State using their own vehicles not being monitored closely and dodging checkpoints. The number of people returning from Tamil Nadu, which is reporting a high number of COVID-19 cases, is quite high at the check-post and the checking needs to be “thorough and strict”, some said.
“I didn’t know the procedure and I just drove without getting checked. But I have quarantined myself,” a person who wished anonymity said. But officials maintained that even if some may have inadvertently escaped checking, the numbers will be “negligible”.
A police officer said that Attibele check-post was the only inter-State check-post connecting the city presently and that they had blocked inner roads like T.V.S. Road, Anekal Road and Hosur-Bagalur Road that connected the State to Tamil Nadu.
Speaking to The Hindu , Madhukar Govindarajulu, an entrepreneur who volunteers at the check-post, said that registration on Seva Sindhu portal was a must and they insist on Aarogya Sethu app as well.
“Thermal screening is done and those who have not registered on Seva Sindhu are made to fill a form on the spot which is fed in the system. We can see vehicles coming and we stop them and check,” he said, adding that weekends see surge in number of vehicles.
Meanwhile, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has appealed to Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs), apartment complexes and neighbours to report such returnees. A member of an RWA in the city said they were working closely with officials and were keeping an eye on inter-State returnees.
