Vijayawada: Huge traffic jams are being seen again on the Andhra-Telangana border with people returning from Hyderabad finding it difficult to enter their own state due to the lack of valid passes.
The problems have been compounded as the AP police have banned entry into the state between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. People who arrive during this time are forced to remain on the roads till morning. Adding to their woes is closure of the border at Nagarjunasagar. People are being allowed into Andhra Pradesh only through Dachepalli in Guntur district and Garikapadu in Krishna district.
Lakhs of people belonging to Andhra who work and live in Hyderabad are returning to AP over fears that the Telangana government may rempose a lockdown because of the increasing number of coronavirus cases in that state.
The returnees are forming long queues at the borders as they lack e-passes. AP police have made an e-pass obtained from the AP government's portal Spandana mandatory to enter the state. Permissions given by the Telangana authorities are being rejected.
Adding to the length of queues is the requirement of returnees undergoing thermal scan and getting a home quarantine stamp on the back of their hands. During the past week, an average of 800 people per day entered AP at Garikapadu. In the past few days this number has gone up to more than 1,000. The number of people entering the state is going up by the day at a rate of 300 to 600 every day. Similarly, nearly 2,000 people are entering AP from Dachepalli. Last Sunday, the number was nearly 3,000.
K. Sudhakar, a private employee belonging to Nuzivid, said corona positive cases are increasing rapidly in Hyderabad. As the Telangana government is planning to reimpose a lockdown, people of AP have decided to return to their native places.
Sadly, AP police and officials denying entry without the e-pass through Spandana is turning out to be a major obstacle. Sudhakar said norms and rules for issue of these passes should be eased.
G. Venkatamma of Samarlakot town in AP works in Bagh Amberpet area of Hyderabad. She wants to benefit from free house sites announced by AP Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy. She complains that she was stopped at the border as she did not have the e-pass. She has now applied for the same online to enter AP before July 8, so that she could get her house patta.
DGP Gautam D. Sawang has appealed to people entering Andhra Pradesh that they plan their travel in such a way that they enter AP between 7 am to 7 pm. All of them must be carrying valid e-passes obtained through Spandana. He reiterated that people will not be allowed into the state after 7 p.m. People should take note of the same and cooperate with officials, he added.
