A pregnant Malayali woman settled in Bengaluru had to spend a night in the forest region of the Wayanad-Gundlupet border seeking special permission from Kerala authorities to enter the state. Later, following intervention from the Kerala Chief Minister's office, the woman was allowed to enter Kerala.
Shjila, a native of Thalassery in Kannur district, came from Bengaluru with permission from the police to travel. She was also accompanied by a child and two relatives and travelled through Mysore to Wayand.
But she was stopped by the Kerala police at the border near the Muthanga forest area on Monday night as norms permit only patients in critical condition and requiring emergency medical facilities, available in one state, to travel to the other state. Shjila, who was nine months pregnant, insisted on proceeding to her native and remained near the border area in her vehicle.
By Tuesday, the Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, took note of the matter and subsequently a special permission was granted for Shijila and her child to enter Kerala, on the condition that she would remain under quarantine at a COVID-19 care centre in Kannur. The others travelling with her had to return.