COVID-19 restrictions | Traders in Kozhikode panchayat resort to ‘TPR challenge’ to prove their point

Panchayat-level functionaries of the Kerala Vyapari Vyvasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) told said that sheer desperation forced them to launch such an initiative

Traders in a grama panchayat in Kozhikode district have resorted to what they term as ‘TPR challenge’ to tell the Kerala government that the ongoing restrictions on social life based on the test positivity rate of COVID-19 is unscientific. Panchayat-level functionaries of the Kerala Vyapari Vyvasayi Ekopana Samithi (KVVES) told The Hindu on July 28 that sheer desperation forced them to launch such an initiative. “For the past three weeks, a triple lockdown is in force in Peruvayal, which has a population of around 55,000, because of the high rate of TPR. It falls in the ‘D’ category where the TPR is above 15%. However, nearby panchayats, which are bigger in terms of population and number of patients, are in ‘B’ and ‘C’ categories where there are very few restrictions,” Mamukutty Vellakkattu, KVVES leader, said. Because of this, the traders are in a crisis as the authorities are not allowing them to open shops.