Kerala health worker travels 400 km to join duty in Kasaragod amid lockdown

The 54-year-old Junior Health Inspector told TNM that he had to report to duty at Madur as there were not enough people to coordinate COVID-19 measures in the panchayat.
Kerala health worker travels 400 km to join duty in Kasaragod amid lockdown
Kerala health worker travels 400 km to join duty in Kasaragod amid lockdown

Over the last few months, several COVID-19 warriors have been celebrated across India for displaying unwavering commitment to their jobs.

In Kerala, a 54-year-old health worker has similarly won the hearts of the state’s people after he braved a lockdown and travelled 400 odd kilometres to join duty in a critical panchayat in Kasaragod.

Junior Health Inspector Ratheesh Kumar reached Madur on Wednesday all the way from his hometown of Ernakulam. The panchayat had arranged a cab from Kasaragod, which charged Ratheesh a whopping Rs 12,000 as fare.

Stuck at home during lockdown

The junior superintendent had gone home to Ernakulam on March 21, a day before the Janata Curfew was announced.

“I had taken a room for rent in Madur and was completely dependent on eateries for food. Because all shops, eateries and other outlets would remain shut on Janata Curfew, I decided to go home the previous day,” Ratheesh says. However, soon after the curfew, a nation-wide lockdown was announced, preventing Ratheesh from returning to Kasaragod.

“For one week, when I was stuck in Ernakulam, the panchayat secretary was managing all activities related to COVID-19. This includes running the community kitchen, monitoring home quarantine, sending daily reports to the Health department, ensuring food reached those who could not cook, etc. When it got too much, he rang me up and asked if there was any way I could return. They then arranged a cab and I travelled to Kasaragod,” Ratheesh tells TNM.

On April 1, Ratheesh started his journey back to Madur.

At every district, the car was stopped by police officers who asked the health officer and the driver where they were traveling to. Ratheesh showed his government ID card and also explained that the state government had not instructed all employees to join duty.

“I would explain to them that my job in the health services fell under the essential category. Every district, they checked my ID and let me go,” he adds.

On reaching Kasaragod, the total cab fare had come up to Rs 12,000. “I didn’t have that much money then. So I promised the driver that I would pay in two weeks,” he says.

Ratheesh is now back in his office, coordinating COVID-19 related activities in the panchayat. “We have the secretary and three junior health inspectors who are managing the situation. We do not have a separate health inspector and hence I decided to return as they clearly needed more hands in the panchayat,” he says.

Madur is one of two critical panchayats in Kasaragod, with 10 positive cases and 246 people under home observation.

Kasaragod is the district with the highest positive cases in Kerala, with over 106 positive cases reported already.

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