BARIPADA: The village heads of Birishpur under Jaleswar tehsil, located close to West Bengal, have decided to crack the whip on people violating Covid-19 protocols and putting others’ lives at risk. They will impose a fine of Rs 5,000 on every person found violating the mandatory quarantine norms.
The village is home to nearly 200 families. Even as the Odisha-West Bengal border at Laxmannath has been sealed to stop inter-State movement, villagers said there are occasions when people from West Bengal were seen entering the village and nearby areas through the porous border routes.
Taking this into consideration, president of village committee Amarnath Ghosal said as the village is located close to the border, people from the neighbouring state are using the interior routes to come to Odisha. The village committee conducted a meeting three days back where it was decided to impose a fine on people who enter the village without an RT-PCR negative report or refuse to stay in 14-day institutional quarantine.
“If someone is willing to come to the village, he or she has to produce an RT-PCR negative report and in the absence of it, they have to remain in isolation for 14 days at the quarantine centre set up at Jaleswar Women’s College nearby. On violation of this order, they will have to pay a fine of Rs 5,000”, Ghosal said, adding that such a decision was necessary to bring down the rising Covid-19 cases in the area.
This week, three persons of the village tested positive for Covid-19 and are under home isolation. The village committee has also urged people not to step outside their houses unnecessarily. For creating awareness, the village committee has assigned a person with the job of informing people about the Covid norms. Sarpanch of Laxmannath panchayat Babita Rout said the local ASHA and anganwadi workers have been asked to collect data on people coming to Birishpur.