BARIPADA: Residents of Bangiriposi block in Mayurbhanj are losing sleep over quarantined migrants flouting norms and stepping out in public spaces.
They are panic struck as at least three inmates on Sunday jumped the boundary walls of the temporary medical centre (TMC) at Bangiriposi Government High School and loitered in market areas.
The latter had returned to the State from outside, few days back.
Locals staying close to the TMC noticed that the inmates were consuming handia (rice beer) in a thatched house close to the centre.
When confronted, they quickly paid the liquor shop owner and sprinted towards the TMC.
When the locals followed after them, they saw the migrants jumping across the boundary wall and entering the TMC, a video of which was captured and shared on social media.
As the video went viral, locals panicked and did not go to the market even to buy essentials, fearing spread of coronavirus.
Locals Ajay Mohanty and Sanjay Agarwal alleged that the returnees have been going out and behaving irresponsibly since a while.
“Despite repeated appeals to the sarpanch and other authorities concerned, illegal movement of quarantined returnees is going unchecked. Covid-19 cases continue to surge and local cases are appearing but the sarpanch is still questioning the credibility of the video captured,” they protested.
Sarpanch Sunimani Singh and ABDO Rupesh Nayak, however, have denied the allegation.