Member of Parliament from Dakshina Kannada, Nalin Kumar Kateel, has said that it is the responsibility of the State government concerned to take care of its citizens at the time of Covid-19 pandemic.

The Karnataka government has taken some steps to protect its people in such a situation, Kateel said in a series of tweets on Thursday on the Kerala government’s demand to open the border connecting Mangaluru with Kasaragod.

No one had stopped the people of Kerala coming to Mangaluru for medical treatment in different circumstances. Karnataka has taken this step to protect its citizens in the current situation.

Kateel, who is also the president of Karnataka BJP, said Covid-19 positive cases in entire Karnataka State were fewer than that of Kasaragod district in Kerala. He felt that the opening of the border connecting Mangaluru with Kasaragod will lead to many patients rushing to Mangaluru for treatment. It is not proper to create fear among people of Karnataka in such a situation, he said.

In a tweet on Thursday, Bharath Shetty, Member of Legislative Assembly (Mangaluru North), said that 50 per cent of Covid-19 cases in the district Wenlock Hospital in Mangaluru are from Kasaragod. Shetty, who is also a dentist, said Kasaragod alone has 100-plus cases, that is the total count of Karnataka. “We can’t let this pandemic spread to Dakshina Kannada,” he said.

Aruna Shyam, an advocate, said in a tweet (which was retweeted by Kateel) that reasonable restriction imposed by the Karnataka state government blocking roads and restricting entry is not total prohibition and violative of Article 19. He said it is in the interest of the citizens under Article 21, Disaster and Epidemic Act and notifications.

Earlier, in a late-night order on Wednesday, the Kerala High Court asked the Centre to open the Kasaragod-Mangaluru National Highway with immediate effect, saying that Karnataka had no powers to close it.

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