Kerala Chief Minister writes to PM Modi on Karnataka Police blocking key highway

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi drawing his attention to Karnataka Police’s action of blocking the Thalassery-Coorg State Highway-30, a lifeline for ferrying essential commodities to the State.

Highway 30 begins at Thalassery in Kerala and ends at the State boundary.

“I wish to bring to your kind attention the action of the Karnataka Police which has resulted in the blocking of the Thalassery-Coorg State Highway-30. This road connects Kerala with Coorg in Karnataka via Veerajapettah. This route is a lifeline for the flow of essential commodities to Kerala. If this is blocked, vehicles carrying essential commodities will have to travel a much longer route to reach our State,” wrote Vijayan in his letter to PM Modi.

The Chief Minister has requested the PM to intervene in the matter to ensure a smooth flow of essential commodities to Kerala amid lockdown due to coronavirus.

This comes in the backdrop of the latest update by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare which confirmed the total number of positive cases of COVID-19 as 873 in the country.

In Kerala, the number of COVID-19 cases stand at 173, while 53 cases have been reported in Karnataka. (ANI)