More cops on city borders as a larger crowd tries to flee

Ram.Sundaram@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  05.05 2020

As more than 500 cars were caught at Vandalur check post on Monday for trying to sneak out of the city without valid passes, people fleeing Chennai started taking interior routes on their bikes to escape police attention. Police, however, blocked these connecting roads too by on Monday afternoon.

The Chengelpet police set up an additional check post at Paranur as a precautionary measure to ensure that no one crossed the city’s borders on bikes. Police strength at East Coast Road (ECR) and Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) check posts were also increased on Monday.

Ever since Covid-19 cases in Chennai witnessed a steep hike, people started taking all shortcuts to leave the city and reach their native districts.

“Some hid under tarpaulin sheets, vegetable loads of trucks. But after Koyambedu cluster grew, people fear travelling by trucks. So they came up with fake vehicle passes and medical documents,” said a senior police officer. All of these vehicles were turned back. From Tuesday, city police will start screening vehicles right from Chromepet and Tambaram to ensure there are no long queues at Vandalur or Paranur.

As queues started to grow, a separate lane was created for emergency and essential services vehicles at the checkposts to ensure they were not stranded in this traffic. Additional police force was deployed to check passes in other lanes and clear the queue faster, a police officer added. Each check post now has a 40-member team headed by a deputy superintendent of police (DSP).

Despite the efforts, some vehicles managed to sneak out and were caught while entering other districts. Such cases were reported at Sivaganga and Kanyakumari on Monday. Police are using special mobile apps to track such violators.

As a precaution, thermal screening was done for all passengers at district borders, and those with fever were immediately directed to nearby hospitals, said a police officer from Sivaganga district.

While there was a clampdown on those leaving Chennai, many entered the city freely from other districts.

COPS UNDER PRESSURE: Many tried to leave Chennai on bikes