GUWAHATI: Mizoram’s lone Lok Sabha member C Lalrosanga has petitioned Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking restrictions on the movement of troops of paramilitary forces in the state given the spike in Covid-19 cases.
He has also raised the issue with top officials of the paramilitary forces deployed to the state.
“I had written to Amit Shah sometime back on the issue of the movement of troops of Assam Rifles, Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force and National Disaster Response Force in Mizoram. I said their movement should be restricted and minimised to the extent possible to avoid infection,” the MP told this newspaper on Tuesday.
He said the number of cases in Mizoram had gone up after a lot of them were reported from the paramilitary forces. Over the past 24 hours, 22 Assam Rifles personnel tested positive, he said.
“We feel their standard (vis-à-vis adherence to Covid-19 protocols) is not up to the mark. They should take more care. The number of cases in our state was very low until a lot of personnel of paramilitary forces tested positive,” Lalrosanga said.
He said he had written to the BSF’s Director-General on the issue of the movement of troops in and out of Mizoram. He had insisted it abides by the standard operating procedure issued by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and not move the troops unnecessarily.
“I also spoke to the BSF’s IG and DIG. I said they should take care of quarantine facilities and isolate the suspected cases so that they cannot mix with other troops and civilians. I said they should take utmost care in containing the spread of the disease,” Lalrosanga said.
He said panic had set in among locals as a number of jawans had tested positive.
“There is a lot of apprehension among locals as due to contagion from other states and the troops, we are having an increase in our numbers. We are containing well inside Mizoram,” he added.
Of the 361 cases in Mizoram so far, 153 were reported from paramilitary forces. There are now 168 active cases.