BHUBANESWAR: With a largescale violation of quarantine guidelines by returnees in Ganjam, that is confronting a huge surge in Covid-19 cases, raising a red flag, the State Government has moved to quell the disorder. While steps are being taken to tighten security at the quarantine centres in the district, Speaker of Odisha Assembly Surya Narayan Patro has also taken stern note of the incidents of people slipping out to meet their family members and even roam around in the open.
Reviewing the situation through a video conference with Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange, the Speaker directed the administration to keep a close watch on every quarantine centre. As most of the quarantine centres are located in villages, the people lodged there are finding it easy to escape, he said.
Stating that the return of migrant workers has posed a bigger threat to villages than urban areas, he said the returnees should be asked to strictly obey the rules of quarantine. “I have directed the Collector to beef up security in all quarantine centres and ensure that no such incident is repeated. I have also asked the Collector to convert buildings of Government or private establishments outside the villages to accommodate the returnees,” he told mediapersons after the meeting.
‘Because there are reports that many migrants are slipping out of the quarantine centres at night, the family members of the migrants should talk to them over phone and convince them not to breach the rules,’ he added.He said the district administration has clamped prohibitory orders under section 144 around all the quarantine centres to prevent the entry of relatives of inmates.
The district administration apprised the Speaker that about 40,000 migrants are currently under quarantine at 2,983 centres in the district. There are plans to shift the quarantine centres to large public buildings outside the villages. At present, the district has one 200 bed exclusive Covid hospital and proposal has been submitted to set up another such facility in the district. Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for MSME Pratap Chandra Sarangi has also raised concern and asked the State Government to ensure round-the-clock security at the quarantine centres to prevent inmates from fleeing and infecting others.
“Some migrants, who were kept in schools in Ganjam after returning from Surat, reportedly fled the quarantine centres. This has exposed the gaps in the State Government’s management plan,” Sarangi said in a letter to CM Naveen Patnaik.Union Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba also reviewed the Covid-19 situation management with chief secretaries of all the states and raised the issue of people fleeing quarantine.