Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 24 (IANS): A day after Karnataka closed 13 entry points on their border with Kerala citing the Covid spread there, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to see such restrictions are not imposed.

In a letter to Modi, Vijayan said that new restrictions have been imposed by Karnataka on the entry of people from Kerala.

"Many persons, mainly students, trucks carrying essential commodities and patients going for medical treatment are put to undue hardship at the state borders. Imposing restrictions on inter-state movements of people by states is contrary to the instructions of the Government of India, which are at present holding the field. I request your urgent intervention in this matter so that the hardships of people from Kerala travelling to Karnataka be avoided," he said.

The closing down of border points took place on Monday, but following widespread protests, there appeared to be some relaxation on Tuesday. However, at times, there were reports that there were issues at the borders, as Karnataka authorities were insisting on RT-PCR test results to ensure all entrants were Covid negative.

There is a lot of movement across the border for various needs, especially by the farming community, who regularly move from Kerala to work on the lands they either own or have taken on lease in Karnataka.