Kerala CMO comes to rescue of stranded pregnant woman

A nine-months pregnant woman who came from Bengaluru by a taxi and stopped at a border checkpost here due to lockdown was allowed to proceed to her home district Kannur in Kerala after the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan intervened on Tuesday, officials said.

Based on instructions from the CMO, the Kannur District Collector issued a permit allowing her to travel and she was escorted to Batheri hospital for medical check-up, they said. The woman decided to return to her native Thalassery for delivery and travelled in the taxi along with her two children and sister from Bengaluru after taking permission from police there and reached Muthanga check-post on Monday night.

But they were not allowed to enter Kerala due to the nationwide lockdown. Considering her condition, it was decided to allow only the pregnant woman and take her to the Batheri Taluk hospital in this district which as "well-equipped" for handling pregnancy cases, district officials said.

However, the woman refused it and claimed she had permission from Kannur District collector to travel to Thalassery, her hometown. But there was no order with them. She waited forhours and we provided them security and food. But later they went back to nearby Mysuru and stayed with a relative and later came back today morning, a senior police official said.

"The Kannur collector office issued a vehicle pass for her travel alone and the Wayanad district administration and the police escorted them till the district border and the rest of the family was sent back from Kerala border to Bengaluru," Wayanad district police chief R Ilango told PTI.

He said as per the lockdown protocol, inter-state travel will be allowed only in four circumstances and pregnancy was not one among them. The officer said people from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu villages bordering Kerala were being allowed to enter Kerala for medical treatment on humanitarian consideration.

"These villages lack hospitals nearby. We allow them after checking their credentials and allow them to take treatment at Batheri hospital," he said.