The Kollam district administration has put in place restrictions on vehicular movement in an effort to contain local transmission of COVID-19. An odd-even scheme for private vehicles has come into effect from Monday.
As per the order, private vehicles ending with odd numbers (1,3,5,7,9) are allowed on the roads on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Private vehicles ending with even numbers (0,2,4,6,8) can ply on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The rule, however, does not apply for Sundays with all vehicles being allowed to ply.
According to the Kollam district administration, the restriction is not applicable to existing public transport like buses of Kerala State Road Transport Corporation or to private buses, taxis or auto-rickshaws. The restriction is also not applicable to vehicles passing through Kollam to other districts.
Vehicles plying for essential services including transport and goods vehicles being used for disaster management works or government services, will also be exempted from the restrictions.
There is, however, confusion over how the restrictions will be applied for those who need to commute daily for work. District officials who TNM spoke to there is still some lack of clarity on the matter.
“For those who have an identity card from their workplace, they can show that during police checks. But for others without an identity card, there has been no specific direction as of now. Many have been calling to ask doubts regarding this. We have intimated the District Collector, a decision will soon be made,” said an official of district administration.
After Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam district has the highest number of active COVID-19 cases with 879 people under treatment. The district has also recorded four deaths so far. On Sunday, out of the 74 people who were found to have COVID-19, 59 got the disease through local transmission.
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