Central team finds violation of lockdown norms in Bengal's containment zones
KOLKATA: A day after shooting two strong-worded letters to the Mamata Banerjee government, the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) visited several places in north Bengal, Kolkata and its adjoining areas on Sunday, accusing the state administration of not cooperating with them and not taking measures to ensure lockdown.
The members of the two teams who arrived in Bengal on April 20 also visited marketplaces where people were seen violating social distancing norms.
The team in north Bengal visited tea gardens to see whether the workers were maintaining social distancing norms and interacted with shopkeepers in Siliguri markets. They also inquired whether the workers are receiving food grains through public distribution system (PDS).
Vineet Joshi, the leader of the team, said lockdown norms are not being followed at many places in north Bengal. "The state government has to come forward. They have to ensure implementation of lockdown norms," he said, adding that the team is yet to receive data and records from the state.
Apurva Chandra, the leader of the team visiting Kolkata and its adjoining areas, sent two letters to the chief secretary of West Bengal government, Rajiv Sinha, on Saturday accusing the state government of violating the order of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and not cooperating with his team.
Chandra and his team went to a market at Kidderpore in Kolkata’s port area and found people buying food and groceries ignoring lockdown norms. The officials of the central team recorded the crowded market using their video camera.
The IMCT also went to several pockets in Howrah district. They visited several areas at Salkia in Howrah, the area which has been sealed and marked as containment zone as a number of persons were tested positive for COVID-19 from there.