Kerala opens border at six places to enable Keralites return from other states
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala on Monday opened its borders at six places for Keralites stranded in other states due to the COVID-19 lockdown to return to their native.
The government through an order issued earlier had designated six entry points for receiving the stranded persons from other States to enter Kerala.
The stranded Keralites can enter the state through border check-posts at Inchivila in Thiruvananthapuram, Aryankavu in Kollam, Kumily in Idukki, Walayar in Palakkad, Muthanga in Wayanad and Manjeshwar in Kasaragod.
NORKA (Non Resident Keralites Affairs) department had on Sunday said that at least 1.5 lakh Keralites from other states had registered to return after the Centre opens inter- state borders.
As per the state government order, it has directed the district administration to ensure a facility at each designated entry points to accommodate at least 500 persons at a time and enough parking space for the vehicles near the borders.
"We have already set up 60 counters to receive the Keralites coming from the other side of the border. We will set up more if required. As of now, school teachers are helping at us the help-desks and police, health and revenue officials are also here," Kasaragod district collector D Sajith Babu told mediapersons.
He said the district administration would ensure that everyone maintains social distancing and discouraged those who reach the border without registering with Norka.
He said those who have registered with the Norka will have a vehicle pass and the persons will be medically examined at the border.
"There is a team of doctors here. If a group of people are coming to the state, one persons need to approach the counter to give details of the persons in the vehicle while the rest of them remain in the vehicle. The doctors will examine everyone for any symptoms. If anyone has any symptoms, they will be isolated and the district administration will take necessary steps," Babu said.
The district administration has also readied enough number of ambulances to take any symptomatic persons to hospitals.
The government order, undersigned by state Principal Secretary Bishwanath Sinha, the state co-ordinator for inter- state transit, has also mentioned those who will get priority to cross the border.
Those from neighbouring states seeking medical aid in Kerala, pregnant women with family, family members including children separated due to lockdown, students, senior citizens with family members and persons who lost job are given priority over others to enter Kerala, the order read.
NORKA had said yesterday that at least 1.5 lakh Keralites from other states have registered in its website to return to the state once the centre opens the inter-state borders.
Out of the 1.5 lakh Keralites from other states, over 50,000 are from Karnataka and 45,491 from Tamil Nadu. At least 20,869 from Maharashtra have registered with Norka to return to the state.
The state government had earlier said that those who returned from other states will be medically examined at the borders and those who are symptomatic will be isolated and quarantined.
The government has also said that those who don't have any symptoms will also have to undergo the mandatory quarantine period of 28 days once they enter the border.
In a relief to Kerala, no new cases were reported from the state on Sunday while one person was cured.
Till now 499 persons were affected in the state while three deaths were also reported. Kerala has currently 95 people s under treatment for the deadly coronavirus and cured 401 people of COVID-19.
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HC questions Delhi govt over failure to regulate sale of old vehicles, refers to Red Fort blast
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court questioned the city government on Wednesday over its failure to regulate the sale and transfer of used vehicles, while pointing out that in a recent bomb blast near the Red Fort, a second-hand car was used, making the issue more significant.
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the Delhi government to file a detailed response on the issue of regulating authorised dealers of registered vehicles.
"A car changes four hands but the original owner has not changed. Therefore, what happens? That man (the original owner) goes to the slaughterhouse? What is this? How are you permitting this? You will take a call when two-three more bomb blasts take place?" the bench asked the Delhi government's counsel.
The bomb blast near the iconic Mughal-era monument was carried out using a second-hand car, making the issue even more significant, it said.
The court listed the matter for further hearing in January 2026.
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The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) plea filed by an organisation, Towards Happy Earth Foundation, highlighting the challenges in the implementation of rules 55A to 55H of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, introduced in December 2022 to regulate authorised dealers of registered vehicles.
While the rules were intended to bring accountability to the second-hand vehicle market, the petitioner's counsel argued that they have failed in practice due to regulatory gaps and procedural hurdles.
The plea said there is a major gap in the amended framework, that is, the absence of any statutory mechanism for reporting dealer-to-dealer transfers.
"In reality, most used vehicles pass through multiple dealers before reaching the final buyer, but the rules recognise only the first transfer to the initial authorised dealer.
"As a result, the chain of custody breaks after the first step, defeating the very purpose of accountability," the petition said.
It added that because of these gaps, only a very small percentage of dealers across India have been able to obtain authorised dealer registration and in Delhi, not a single dealer has got it.
Consequently, lakhs of vehicles continue to circulate without any record of who is actually in possession of those, it said.
The plea said only a small fraction of India's estimated 30,000 to 40,000 used-vehicle dealers are registered under the authorised-dealer framework.
The petition also pointed out that the 11-year-old vehicle used in the November 10 bomb blast near the Red Fort was sold several times but was still registered in its original owner's name.
The blast near the Red Fort had claimed 15 lives.
