Half-formed guidelines and the desperation to somehow return home have caused unmanageable crowds, and also heartbreaks, at the six border check-posts in Kerala through which Malayalis stranded in other states are allowed to enter. Now, in a bid to give more clarity to interstate travel, Kerala has come up with a new set of guidelines.
It says that people should begin their homeward journey only after securing travel permit from the Government of Kerala. Many who were blocked at the borders were those who possessed travel passes from the place where they began their journey but not from Kerala.
Some had applied for the passes from Kerala but had begun their journey before their requess could be processed or once the pass from the starting location was secured. This led to many of them being turned away or asked to wait endlessly at the borders.
Kerala government has already got in touch with other states urging them to issue passes to a person waiting to return only after Kerala grants her a travel permit.
Passes for group travellers
Another major confusion has also been ironed out. Originally, it was said the travel passes for each person coming in groups - in a car or van or bus - should be granted by the district collectors of the destinations of each member of the group.
This has created a situation where one or more members do not get passes or members getting passes for entry on different dates. Therefore, to make things easier for the returnees, the guideline has been modified thus: "One of the persons in the group who is applying for passes can enter the registration numbers of all the group members in the prescribed box in the application for passes and submit the request. If the persons travelling in a group is having destinations to more than one district, the Collector of the district to which the group leader has submitted the application shall issue the entry passes for all the members of the group."
Now, if persons in the group have already obtained passes for entry on different dates, they can come on any day granted for the fellow traveller, if the vehicle number is same.
To maintain social distancing norms, only four persons will be permitted to travel in a car, 5 in an SUV, 10 in a van and 25 in a bus. The maximum number of passengers in a van/bus will be half of the seating capacity.
How to apply
A person has to get permission from the District Collector of her destination by submitting information related to accompanying members in Covid19Jagratha using the registration ID obtained while registering in Norka Roots website by following the link https://covid19jagratha.kerala.nic.in/
After entering the portal, here are the various clicks to be made before the submission of the application: covid-19 jagratha portal - Public Services - Domestic return pass - Register (with Mobile number) - Add group, Vehicle No., Check post, time of arrival - Submit.
One has to select a check post entry date depending on queue and the maximum limit allowed on a particular day.
A person can also apply in Covid19Jagratha, even if she has no NORKA registration ID.
A person travelling by rail should also apply for entry pass in covid19jagratha portal https://covid19jagratha.kerala.nic.in
The new guidelines were issued by principal secretary Bishwanath Sinha who is the state coordinator for interstate transit.