More than 1,000 people who set off from Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana, to various districts in Andhra Pradesh were stranded on Wednesday at the Garikapadu border check-post as the police refused to allow them passage due to lockdown to check the spread of coronavirus disease Covid-19.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Ramana Murthy said since the lockdown was in force and the inter-state borders have been sealed, no vehicle or person could be allowed into the state.
The panic-stricken passengers were huddled in a group as they awaited some intervention from authorities to end the impasse.
The passengers, including students, women and children, set off from Hyderabad in cabs after obtaining special travel permits from the local police.
After a smooth ride up to Garikapadu, the vehicles were stopped around 3.30 pm, leaving the passengers stranded.
A person said he was travelling with his wife, who was nine months pregnant, after a medical check-up in Hyderabad.
“Despite our situation, the police are not willing to let us travel to our destination,” he said.
The Andhra Pradesh government or the police were yet to take a decision on the stranded passengers when reports last came in on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, two fresh cases of Covid-19, including a three-year-old boy, have been reported in Telangana, taking the total number of people infected with the virus in the state to 41, according to a government bulletin on Wednesday.
The other case is a 43-year-old woman from Hyderabad city who is “the family/primary contact of a previous positive case”, it said.