E-Paper
Back from Nanded, 11 pilgrims isolated in Tarn Taran after driver tests positive in Maharashtra
The group had returned on Sunday and had been quarantined in their respective homes; samples sent to Amritsar for testing
Back from Nanded’s Hazur Sahib, 11 people were isolated in Tarn Taran’s civil hospital on Monday after the driver of their vehicle tested positive for the deadly virus in Maharashtra.
The pilgrims, which include two women, are part of a group of 14 people who were dropped by the Maharashtra-based driver to Tarn Taran on Sunday. Three others are from Moga’s Chak Tarewa village.
At least 3,000 pilgrims from Punjab were stranded in Hazur Sahib, one of the five temporal seats of Sikhs, after the nationwide lockdown was imposed.
Eight of the eleven persons hail from Khemkaran, a Nagar Panchayat that falls within Bhikhiwind sub-division, while the remaining two hail from Mianwal and Ramuwal villages.
“The pilgrims returned on Sunday and were quarantined in their homes after their return. Later, we learnt that the driver who dropped them off had tested positive for Covid-19 in Maharashtra,” said deputy commissioner (DC) Pardeep Kumar Sabharwal.
He said the pilgrims’ samples had been sent to Amritsar’s Government Medical College (GMC).
The driver hails from Nanded district in Maharashtra. Nanded is 1,900 km from Tarn Taran and it takes around two days to cover the distance.
DRIVER FERRIED PILGRIMS DESPITE PENDING TEST RESULTS
A senior official, requesting anonymity, said the driver’s samples must have been collected earlier, but his results came on Sunday.
This has raised questions as to why the driver was allowed to ferry the pilgrims if his test reports were pending.
The pilgrims have been returning to Punjab in small batches. The state government has also sent several buses to bring back the pilgrims.
