Nagaland government 'violates' its own COVID-19 quarantine protocols

Two influential tribal organisations in Kohima had asked the government to send the returnees to whichever districts they hail from.
A protest was staged by some people in Tuensang. (Photo| EPS)
A protest was staged by some people in Tuensang. (Photo| EPS)

GUWAHATI: The Nagaland government, of which the BJP is a constituent, is drawing censure from various quarters for "violating" the COVID-19 quarantine protocols and its "poor planning" on quarantining returnees.

Recently, 169 returnees were sent to Tuensang, the eastern Nagaland district they hail from, barely three days after they were lodged at a quarantine centre in Kohima. By the time the results of the swab tests came, they had reached Tuensang and one tested positive, triggering public outrage.

So far, around 2,000 returnees have arrived. 

Two influential tribal organisations in Kohima had asked the government to send the returnees to whichever districts they hail from. They had warned that the government would be held solely responsible in the event of infection in the community.

A senior state government officer told The New Indian Express "overcrowding (of quarantine centres) was not the reason (why the returnees were sent to Tuensang)". 

He refused to talk further saying the Additional Chief Secretary was the appropriate authority. Neither the Additional Chief Secretary nor the Health Minister responded to phone calls.

The state government has arranged the quarantine facilities in Dimapur and Kohima districts. A government hospital in Kohima, which is the state capital, has the state's only bio-safety level 3 lab. 

Some tribal organisations from other districts asked the government to put in place proper infrastructure, such as sufficient hospitals, doctors, nurses, labs etc, at their places before sending the returnees.

The Lotha Hoho, the apex organisation of Lotha tribe, said since Kohima enjoyed the lion's share of healthcare facilities, it was its bounden duty to shoulder the "responsibilities". Infrastructure in the state is mostly concentrated in Kohima and Dimapur districts.

The opposition Congress said the sheer "criminal negligence" of the Neiphiu Rio government was exposed when the 169 returnees were sent to Tuensang violating its own 14-day institutional quarantine rule.

"The government's eagerness to be held hostage by the diktats of some civil society organisations and local bodies has sliced opened the wounds of discrimination and imbalanced share of development that is visible all over the state," the Congress said.

The party said the government was in a state of "total panic" after repeatedly assuring people that it was well-prepared during the initial days of lockdown. It urged Governor RN Ravi to step in and salvage the situation by dismissing "this incompetent and callous government". 

Nagaland is the last state in the Northeast to record COVID-19 cases. Till 3 pm of Thursday, the state has 18 COVID-19 patients, all of them returnees.

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