Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (DV)
Mangaluru, Jul 4: Though the state government has issued new guidelines to contain the spread of Delta Plus variant and made negative RT-PCR certificate or vaccination certificate of at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine compulsory, to the travellers coming to Karnataka by flight, bus, train, taxi, or personal transport, the authorities concerned seem to have not made arrangements for conducting inspections at railway stations in the city.
The strict guidelines have remained only on paper. The district administration has made checking compulsory at Talapady checkpost for the people entering the district from Kerala, from 9 am to 6 pm. But there will be no checking from 6 pm to 9 am.
The administration has failed to make arrangements for the passengers coming by train. Also, it is said that travellers taking buses to the border and who later enter the district by Karnataka buses are not being checked.
Trains from the states Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh are arriving in the city. The government has made a negative RT-PCR certificate or vaccination certificate of at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine compulsory for only travellers from Maharastra and Kerala.
Speaking to Daijiworld, the district health officer (DHO) Dr Kishore Kumar said, "When passengers board the train from Maharastra or Kerala, the railway officials should only allow them after making sure they have an RT-PCR negative report or the vaccination certificate of being inoculated against Covid at least once. We have communicated the same to the railways. I have spoken to the railways' area manager in this regard.
"The doctors in the railways in the city informed us that they do not have sufficient staff for the RT-PCR test. We told them that we will provide kits for RT-PCR tests. But it is very difficult to deploy staff from our department, as all the staff are busy tackling the pandemic. Railways should deploy staff. We will provide all forms of support," he said.