Emergency e-pass still elusive for Chennaiites
As the coronavirus cases increase in Chennai, the public, particularly those applying for e-passes, to attend the funeral, medical emergency and reunion of the family are subjected to severe stress and trauma.
migrator
Chennai
On Friday, 37-year-old Sathya a native of Triplicane broke down in his college alumni WhatsApp group pleading with his friends to rush to his house crying that his mother was breathless and dying. “Sathya is stranded in Dubai and as the doctors confirmed the death of the 65-year-old mother, the grieving family in shock completed the cremation within four hours. With relatives and friends not getting time to travel and e-passes compulsory, the funerals in Chennai are turning out to be more stressful for already battered families,” said film director Sinish Sreedharan.
“The case of those working overseas is scary. Death during the time of coronavirus is a double tragedy and I could not do much when my friend broke down from Dubai,” said Sinish. There were a few friends who rushed from the nearby locality and arranged live zoom call for Sathya to see his mother for one last time, he added.
“Last month, my father passed away and I called my relatives asking them not to strain themselves as they have to get e-pass. The travel restriction during the pandemic is a mental agony and I hope the situation soon returns to normal,” said C Jayapaul, a resident of Periamet.
“With no reason given for rejection, the public demand transparency and are worried over e- pass rejections. My friend’s family arrived from the United States and are stranded in Chennai for the past two months. Since last month they are applying for the e-pass to reach Coimbatore, but it is rejected by e-seva authorities,” fumed S Krishna who had also reached out to media professionals seeking help.
“District Collectors are not entertaining the entry of public from Chennai which is a COVID-19 hotspot and it is one of the major reasons for the authorities to reject the majority of the e-passes,” said an official when contacted over issues with travel permit and e- passes.
“Even rules prescribed for funerals are not relaxed for the same reason. Availing e-pass will continue to be an issue for few more weeks as COVID-19 cases are not coming down,” the official added.
Commissioner of e-governance agency Santhosh K Mishra was not available for comments.
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android
