As the stream of migrant workers hailing from central and north India attempting to cross Telangana has resumed during the last four days, the Penganga river bridge on NH 44 which demarcates the inter-State border of the State with Maharashtra has become active once again. The place is also in focus as bus loads of people belonging to southern States, mainly pilgrims are arriving here, some with valid travel passes and some not, seeking to be allowed in.
Authorities have permitted about 9 bus loads of pilgrims from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh who were travelling with valid permits and who had undergone quarantine, a necessity in these circumstances during the last few days. Another two bus load of pilgrims who obviously did possess valid travel passes were sent back.
“We have allowed NRIs or others who had valid passes as per the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs. All others, including the migrant workers seeking to enter Maharashtra, are being sent back in accordance with government orders,” Adilabad Superintendent of Police Vishnu S. Warrier revealed as he talked of the sealing of the inter-State border at this point.
Maharashtra border
Old Adilabad district comprising of Adilabad, Kumram Bheem Asifabad, Mancherial and Nirmal is bounded by Nanded, Yavatmal, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli districts of Maharashtra over a length of about 500 km. In terms of preventing import of COVID-19 from Maharashtra, the State government had recently ordered sealing of all entry and exit points along the border, which includes about 200 km of riverine border in Adilabad and KB Asifabad district.
“There are seven check posts in Adilabad and five in KB Asifabad which are completely sealed off,” affirmed Mr. Warrier, who is also the incharge SP of the latter district. “We have incorporated comunity patrolling and tapping our informer network in villages to check people from Maharashtra coming in,” he added of other measures.
River border
“Check posts have been established at Moogavelli, Talai and Somini to seal the incoming points on Pranahita river,” Kagaznagar DSP B.L.N. Swamy told of the measures to check infiltration along the river border. “In Mancherial, we have bound over the local ferry operators in Pranahita to control people coming in from Maharashtra,” disclosed Mancherial Deputy Commissioner of Police Uday Kumar.
“The borders in Nirmal district are being manned even by civilian groups called village protection groups who exchange notes through a specially created WhatsApp group,” said Superintendent of Police C. Shashidhar Raju. “The five inter-State check posts have been sealed completely,” he added.
