Returning pilgrims stopped at Nandigama

Vijayawada: The police stopped around 10 buses coming from Banaras carrying pilgrims belonging to various districts in Andhra Pradesh at Nandigama and Jaggayyapet on Thursday.

It may be recalled that the pilgrims from various villages in Andhra Pradesh were stranded at Banaras in Uttar Pradesh. After spending 28 days in the quarantine at Banaras, the 352 pilgrims were allowed to get back to their villages in 10 buses after Rajya Sabha member G V L Narasimha Rao intervened and spoke with the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The pilgrims were given quarantine certificates and were told that they would be taken straight to the district headquarters for necessary medical tests once again.

However, when the buses reached Jaggayyapet and Nandigama, police stopped them and insisted that they undergo tests before moving forward. The pilgrims showed the quarantine certificates to the police but to no avail.

Two of the 10 buses which were stopped at Nandigama have pilgrims from East Godavari and West Godavari districts. The pilgrims alleged that the police allowed other buses to go forward but stopped their buses.

Nandigama DSP Ramana Murthy told The Hans India that the pilgrims would not be allowed further without conducting tests. He said that the rest of the buses were stopped at Jaggayyapet and the pilgrims would not be allowed to get back to their villages without tests.

The pilgrims staged dharna for a while and refused to take breakfast arranged by the police at the Nandigama check-post.

The stalemate is likely to continue till the pilgrims agree to undergo tests.