Chennai returnees not welcome in rest of TN

Chennai returnees not welcome in rest of TN

Yogesh.Kabirdoss@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  20.06.2020

City residents making an exodus to their hometowns across Tamil Nadu are greeted with suspicion of being ‘super-spreaders’ of Covid-19. The Chennai returnees are not just closely monitored by the district administrations but also by neighbours who are quick to report them. In some villages in southern parts of the state, new visitors are directed to undergo Covid-19 test.

Parts of southern TN such as Madurai, Tirunelveli and Tuticorin have been seeing more Covid-19 cases, primarily due to those returning from Chennai. A sizeable number of people from the city are making their way into rest of Tamil Nadu illegally without e-passes.

The district control room in Coimbatore is recording a rise in complaints about people from Chennai. In the past three days, it received 60 calls, largely pertaining to movement of people from Chennai and other places, who have entered Coimbatore. However, officials concerned were quick to add that they have not come across any instance of returnees being discriminated or harassed.

Extremely vigilant citizens in some districts in central TN alert officials almost immediately they come across a returnee. Kumar* (*name changed) had a taste of it within hours of reaching his hometown, Thanjavur, with his family on a valid e-pass early on Sunday. “Within three hours of us reaching there, health officials from Thanjavur Municipal Corporation knocked on our doors and asked us to undergo Covid-19 test. The official told us that neighbours had alerted the authorities about our visit,” he said.

District collectors T G Vinay (Madurai), Shilpa Prabhakar Satish (Tirunelveli), Sandeep Nanduri (Tuticorin) and Prashant M Wadnere (Kanyakumari) told TOI that vigilance by villagers at the grass root level was a key factor helping them identify those who sneaked past check posts without e-passes.

Thambi Bhagyakumar of Vilavancode, which is close to the inter-state border in Kanyakumari district, said they were doubly cautious. “Villagers also inform the local body member or health official if those who returned from Chennai, who are supposed to be under quarantine for 14 days, leave the house or entertain visitors,” he added.

(With inputs from M K Ananth from Madurai and A Subburaj from Coimbatore)

Within three hours of us reaching Thanjavur, health officials from the municipal corporation knocked on our doors and asked us to undergo the Covid-19 test. An official told us that some people had alerted the authorities about our visit