Vellore border walls razed after TN, AP officials step in

On Sunday, Vellore officials acting on orders of the Collector A Shunmuga Sundaram began construction of walls blocking the road at the Sainagunda checkpost near Gudiyattam and the Kondanaickanpalayam checkpost near Ponnai in a bid to completely stop movement of vehicles and people between both the states.

But the wall raised at Sainagunda prevented movement of essentials, including milk from Gudiyattam in Tamil Nadu to Palamaner in Andhra Pradesh (AP) and vegetable loads, especially tomato, in the reverse direction.

The Sainangunda checkpost was also the route through which dealers in Karnataka used to transport paddy for hulling in Tiruvannamalai district. The reason behind building the walls was that despite stringent checks, both these locations helped many frequently travel between both states.

An official seeking anonymity said, “People will travel in vehicles up to the checkpost and then walk the remaining distance pretending to be locals. When the checks were intensified, they alighted from vehicles and sneaked into both the states through the nearby forests. This posed a possible threat of virus spread as many avoided the required tests during such infiltrations.”

Though Sundaram’s move was appreciated by residents of Gudiyattam and Pernambut, officials of Chittoor district alerted their higher ups in Andhra Pradesh government, who in turn took up the matter with their counterparts in Tamil Nadu, claiming that the move was against the law and would affect movement of essential goods and emergency services.

Senior officials in Tamil Nadu government, on realising the seriousness of the issue, advised the Vellore district administration to abandon the work immediately.