Angry migrants abandon quarantine centres
20 workers who had returned from Delhi, Haryana and Punjab flee, triggering panic
While the Indian government has extended the lockdown for another fortnight, migrants lodged at the quarantine centres in Bihar are frequently fleeing from the facilities, citing lack of basic amenities and denial of food. This has raised fears of a community spread of the virus.
Authorities turned panicky when more than 20 such migrant workers, who had returned from Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, escaped from a quarantine centre in Katihar district on Monday after breaking open the lock on the gate.
According to reports, around 60 migrant workers were lodged in that quarantine centre when they returned last Saturday. However, the hungry workers were allegedly not served proper breakfast and lunch on time, which left them angry. Many also complained about lack of potable water. But what annoyed them the most was the way they were locked up in a room and their grievances not given due attention.
Eventually, their patience ran out and the angry migrants began creating a ruckus. Thereafter, they broke the lock and fled the quarantine centre on Monday evening. Authorities still do not have any information on their whereabouts.
Search launched
“We are inquiring into the incident. It seems they fled the scene after taking advantage of the gale accompanied with rain,” sub-divisional officer Neeraj Kumar said on Tuesday.
Search operations had been launched by the administration to locate the workers, he said.
A woman, along with a baby girl, also fled from a quarantine centre in Muzaffarpur, citing gross mismanagement at the facility. The woman, identified as Kanchan Devi, told local media that she was served only ‘khichdi’ (a mixture of rice and pulses) all the time and her baby was never given milk. She, however, was later traced by the police, hiding under an abandoned shop, and was sent to another quarantine centre.
Last month, as many as 29 migrant workers fled from
another quarantine centre in eastern Bihar’s Araria district. They had clashed with health workers when they tried to stop them. Another 27 migrants had reportedly fled from a quarantine centre in Jogapatti block of West Champaran district.
Appalling conditions
A surge in such incidents has raised a big question mark over the measures adopted by the government to fight Covid-19. Many of those who were lodged at various quarantine centres across the state complained that they would have fallen sick and landed in hospital had they stayed there for long.
What is surprising is that migrant workers are not willing to stay at these centres though the state government has announced that it will pay Rs500 (Dh24.5) to each person quarantined at these centres. At least 12 districts in Bihar have emerged as hotspots of the virus.