Chaos At Telangana's Borders With Kurnool

After the Telangana government issued orders restricting the entry of ambulances from neighbouring states, the police have been stopping many emergency vehicles trying to enter the state.

As a result of the restrictions, much chaos prevailed at the Pullur toll plaza on the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana border in Kurnool district.

The police asked close to 40 ambulances carrying Covid-19 patients to turn back from the plaza. Among them, while some did not have the necessary documents, some were turned away even though the patients had procured the necessary permissions to enter the state for treatment.

This caused many angry people from AP, including some BJP leaders, to stage a protest against the Telangana police at the border. In Telangana too, BJP MLA T Raja Singh lambasted the state police for stopping the ambulances at the borders.

Despite clear orders from the Telangana High Court to lift the restrictions on ambulance entry, police officials made the 40 odd ambulances wait at the toll plaza for hours, reports say. It is also being said that this resulted in the death of two critically ill patients. The delay in receiving medical attention caused the death of a patient from Kunrool's Nandyal and of another from Kadapa.

Though there has been considerable criticism for the move, the KCR government has repeatedly stated that the shortage of beds and medical oxygen in Telangana has prompted the decision, and does not seem to want to lift the restrictions.

AP's main political parties, the YSR Congress Party, the TDP, the Congress, and the CPI, have all objected to the ambulance ban and have appealed to Telangana's officials to allow the ambulances to enter the state in order to save the lives of Covid-19 patients.