District-wise quarantine centres for returnees in the offing: MP Biswajit Daimary

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary on Monday made it clear that district-wise quarantine centres for people returning home from various parts of the country would be arranged as the State Government was taking all necessary measures for this.

Talking to reporters at Bodoland Guest House, Kokrajhar, Daimary said there was fear and apprehension among the people of Kokrajhar as the quarantine centres in the district to accommodate the people of nine districts of lower Assam coming from other parts of the country had become insufficient. He said more and more people were coming back home from across the country either by road or by train and they were being taken to different quarantine centres in Kokrajhar but the unprecedented flow of stranded people had crossed the accommodation capacity in the quarantine centres and that had forced the State Government to take alternative measures to set up quarantine centres. He said the district administration was looking for more accommodation facilities in schools, colleges or other institutions to keep the returnees for medical test.

Daimary said that since lack of accommodation had become a matter of concern in the district, the State Government had decided to set up quarantine centres in their respective districts for the people returning home. "If the returnees are given accommodation in their respective districts then the crisis of accommodation in Kokrajhar for eight districts (Dhubri is separated) will be overcome," he said, adding that setting up of more quarantine centres in the respective districts would be the easiest idea to share the burden. He also said the State Government had decided to form constituency-wise quarantine centre with the respective legislator as its chairman to look after the people coming back home. He further called upon the people to be vigilant about the people who escape medical examination.

Referring to the incident of a person of Sonitpur district who had travel history from other States by bus and later tested COVID-19 positive after conscious villagers denied him entry into the village and forced him to go for medical examination in the quarantine centre, Daimary said everybody should respect the guidelines of the nation to protect the society from the deadly pandemic.

Replying to a question on stranded labourers working in the cities of South India, Daimary said the State Government had issued helpline numbers. He called upon all stranded people to bear with the prevailing situation and not to leave their respective places without confirming the journey back home. He also called upon all stranded people to inform about their problems to the district administration or local MLA or the police administration for help.  

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