CUTTACK: Even as the State Government has put panchayats at the forefront to prevent spread of coronavirus when an anticipated five lakh migrants rush back home after lockdown is lifted, hundreds of quarantine centres set up across the district lack basic facilities.
Most centres are set up in gross violation of guidelines issued for establishment of quarantine facilities. Norms like evaluation of potential sites, risk assessment, securing entry and exit points, deployment of trained human resources, lavatory, catering, wash rooms, laundry and other related activities, biomedical waste (BMW) management, disinfection facilities and activities for screening the personnel entering the quarantine facility, their examination and referral have been ignored, sources said.
The Government has allotted ` five lakh to each panchayat for establishing temporary medical facilities to put returnees under quarantine. Accordingly, 388 quarantine centres at panchayat level and 19 in urban local bodies have been set up across the district. Most of the centres, however, lack have basic infrastructure like beds, bedsheets, toilets, drinking water facilities, wash rooms and electricity back-up.
While benches have been paired to make beds at some centres, others are found in unhygienic or inhospitable conditions. Though each bed is supposed to have a clearance of 1-2 metre (minimum 1 metre) from all sides, the norm is violated in most of the centres.
As per the guidelines, quarantine centres should have been set up away from people’s reach, crowded and populated areas. However, most of these are located in close vicinity of residential areas and not well protected and secured. Provisions for differently-abled friendly facilities, ventilation, potable water, functional telephone system for communications have been ignored.
Moreover, untrained staff, who have not been provided with basic protective gear like masks and gloves, are found to be in a state of panic to render the services.Contacted, Collector Bhabani Sankar Chayani said officials would soon start inspecting the quarantine centres to enforce the guidelines.
Meanwhile, alleging irregularities and misuse of funds, Niali-based social activist Abhimanyu Malick has sought intervention of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik into the matter.