GUWAHATI: A volley of questions have been raised on how Faridul Islam, a COVID-19 positive patient, escaped the health check at the entry gate of Assam at Srirampur and reached Barak valley without being checked at all.
The latest arrival was the bus from Rajasthan which reached Assam last Tuesday with 42 passengers - all bound for Barak Valley.
Highlighting Rajasthan’s COVID-19 status as per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is imperative here.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Rajasthan, in the last 24-hours, has registered over 200 COVID-19 positive cases, taking the tally of active cases in the state to 1,565 till Thursday afternoon.
The 42 travellers who were passengers on that fateful bus comprised one dreaded criminal - Faridul Islam - against whom there are several cases registered in different police stations in Assam and who tested COVID-19 positive after reaching his destination, Silchar.
The matter exploded on the media when four more travellers from Rajasthan among the 42 tested COVID-19 positive on May 7.
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According to reports, the bus which travelled from Rajasthan was bound for Barak Valley and with this the state government’s clear instruction was to test all the travellers at the designated point of entry and thereafter arrival.
While a section of the society is blaming Faridul Islam for spreading the virus the question still remains unanswered whether he was the main carrier who had infected other passengers or it was vice versa with the other passengers who were later found to be positive.
The state government’s restlessness and haste in bringing in the stranded people from all over India may result in Assam losing its credibility in retaining its COVID-19 free zone status in the days to come thereby creating unwarranted tension within the state and its residents.
Meanwhile, 44 students from Assam studying in Mewar University, Chittorgrah (Rajasthan), have returned to Assam in two buses with all the requisite permissions passed by the state government and arrival protocols being followed thereafter.
Notably, most of the people from outside the state who have come into Assam and are supposed to make a halt in Guwahati are being quarantined in private hotels in Guwahati’s Paltan Bazar locality.
According to sources, a few renowned hotels in the heart of the city have been converted into quarantine centres for the wellness of the patients but the question here is how safe the city is to offer such accommodations in a busy, jam-packed area like Paltan Bazar.
Assam’s Health Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma, in a statement earlier said that stringent checks are being put in place to trace and identify the COVID-19 positive cases; however, it is still uncertain how the state government will catch up with the rapidly increasing cases taking May 7 as a classic example.
Earlier also, a patient from Kokrajhar district with a travel history of Cooch Behar in West Bengal, had tested positive for COVID-19 which clearly justifies the perils of allowing stranded people to come back to Assam.