MADURAI: More than a hundred residents of Chinna Udaippu village near Madurai staged a road roko, protesting against establishing quarantine ward in their locality.
Chinna Udaippu village which falls in the vicinity of Madurai airport was chosen by the district administration and health department to quarantine the air travellers with COVID19 symptoms.
Protesting against the plan, the villagers raised slogans condemning the move and staged a protest blocking the Thirumangalam four-lane road. Urging the officials not to set up the isolation ward in the Government Cooperatives Training College campus, a resident of the village on the request of anonymity said that there are nearly eight villages around the proposed quarantine set up and the officials are least concerned about the people living around.
Expressing apprehension on the pandemic disease, the villagers demanded to set up the ward somewhere else.
Upon the information, the Health department officials, district administration officials held talks with the villagers. Meanwhile, more than 200 police had been deployed in the village to control the situation.
Meanwhile, District Collector T G Vinay, Deputy Director of Health Services Dr Priya Raj, Madurai Airport Director S Senthil Valavan inspected the proposed quarantine ward at Government Cooperatives Training College on Thursday.
Flights Cancelled
Five domestic flights from Madurai to Bangalore, Hyderabad and New Delhi have been suspended up to 28th March following the steps being taken across the country to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Hand Sanitizer is being distributed to the arriving International passengers and also cleaning is being done on a regular basis after every flight movement. Further, a daily report has been maintained on the screening of International passengers for COVID-19.