Residents take offence to quarantine facilities in their areas

After Hotel Mountview in Sector 10 and Dhanwantari Hospital in Sector 46 were marked as quarantine facilities, residents of these sectors have registered a protest with UT administration

With Chandigarh administration extending quarantine facilities to hotels and schools to deal with mounting cases, residents living close to these facilities are protesting the move. They allege that by setting up isolation facilities in densely populated parts of the sectors, the administration is exposing them to danger.

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Residents of Sectors 10 and 46 have written to the UT administration to mark their protest.

Recently, the UT administration opted for Hotel Mountview to quarantine patients, while milder and asymptomatic cases will be sent to the Sector-46 Dhanwantari Ayurvedic Hospital. The move has prompted residents of both sectors to point out to the administration that the places are uncomfortably close to residential areas, thus a source of threat to them.

Hotel Mountview, in Sector 10, is situated in the midst of a residential area. Protesting this, president of the resident welfare association (RWA), Col Kulwinder Singh (retd), has written to UT administration asking them opt for some other hotel for quarantine. “Mountview is in the heart of the sector with houses of senior citizens all around it. The government only wants to make money for CITCO by charging exorbitant rates. What about the safety of residents?” he asked.

Singh has asked UT adviser Manoj Parida to opt for another hotel or face retaliation from citizens. “We residents will form a chain around Mount View and stop their buses from entering if needed,” he said.

The local area councillor here, Maheshinder Singh Sidhu, said that rather than bring people to a centrally situated hotel, such as The Mountview, the administration could consider using hotels situated in Sector 17, or the Industrial area, or even the outskirts of the city for the safety of residents.

Residents of Sector 46 also claim a similar problem with Dhanwantari Ayurvedic Hospital in the sector, being chosen as quarantine facility. Situated right next to the busy Sector 46 market and the residential area, the move has not gone down well with residents.

President of Sector 46-D RWA, Kedarnath Sharma, said, “The hospital is situated adjacent to a temple and a school. A 24/7 supervision may not be possible. Patients may even roam around as they are mostly asymptomatic which is a cause of worry to residents.” He also said that a quarantine facility had been set up at Government Model Senior Secondary School in Sector 46-D on Saturday which provoked a sense of panic. He said he had written to administration officials about the unsuitability of both places.

The local area councillor here, Gurpreet Singh, said, “The city doesn’t have many hospitals, and I agreed with the administration after being assured that all precautions would be taken. I had even recorded a video for residents to pacify them. However, making a Covid quarantine in Sector 46-D government school is a bad idea as it is a crowded area. I have reached out to the deputy commissioner (DC) and the local MP as well, asking them to reconsider and opt for a building on the outskirts of the sector or another sector for this.”