BENGALURU: With a number of international passengers set to arrive in Bengaluru from Monday, the State Government has been considering converting stadiums into quarantine units. Although it hasn’t given any official orders to the stadiums, the stadium owners are open to the idea as no sporting activities are happening now.
According to the government, there are about 10,823 people who are stranded abroad, who include tourists, students, migrants, professionals, ship crew. Of them, 6,100 are expected to come early.
Dr C N Manjunath, Director, Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research and a member of Covid-19 task force, said, “There are countries like China, Brazil, Europe and Australia which had converted their stadiums into mass quarantine units. In Karnataka, it is being considered as well. There are many international passengers coming and even from other districts, so we will need many rooms, guest houses and other facilities. As of now, no final decision has been made in this regard.”
Commissioner for Health and Family Welfare Department Pankaj Kumar Pandey said, “ If the requirement is there for converting stadiums into quarantine facilities, we will do that. All norms will be followed.”
According to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner BH Anil Kumar, “International passengers will be staying in hotels and foot their own bill. We will look at stadiums and choultries only if the number of those coming from abroad increases beyond our carrying capacity.”
Karnataka State Cricket Association spokesperson and treasurer Vinay Mruthyunjaya said, “As of now, we have not received any communication. But, definitely, we are going to help them if they ask for our facilities and work out the modalities. There are 30 rooms in the Chinnaswamy Stadium.”
Karnataka State Football Association Secretary M Satyanarayan said, “We haven’t been approached yet. But if the government wants the Bangalore Football stadium, we are open to giving. They can put up German tents and use it. As of now there are no sports events being held, so we will be happy to help them.”
Already, some of the iconic sports stadiums in India have been turned into quarantine centres. The Sports Authority Of India (SAI) had recently announced that it would hand over the Jawarharlal Nehru Stadium to government to create quarantine facility for the coronavirus patients in the Capital.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chief Sourav Ganguly had also offered the indoor facility and players’ dormitory of the Eden Gardens to the West Bengal government to be used for quarantine purposes. Assam had decided on converting Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, also known as Sarusajai Stadium, into a quarantine centre. It has the capacity to house approximately 1,000 people.