Karnataka’s closure of roads: Kerala to seek Centre’s help

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Monday that the closure of border roads by Karnataka, citing rising COVID-19 cases in Kerala, amounted to a violation of the ‘unlock’ guidelines issued by the Centre. The State government would seek the Centre’s intervention to lift the border restrictions, he said while chairing a COVID-19 review meeting. Pointing out that vehicles from Kerla were being intercepted at the border, he said officials were demanding COVID-19-negative certificates based on RT-PCR test. “Karnataka has agreed to waive the condition only for vehicles transporting essential goods after the Kerala State Police Chief talked to his counterpart in Karnataka. We will reach out to the Karnataka government and the Centre to resolve the issue,” he said.