The Chandigarh administration is examining whether any violation of quarantine guidelines took place at the official residence of Rajesh Kumar Khullar, the principal secretary to Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, here on Tuesday.
Amid reports that he was holding his office regularly from his home and also calling his staff and other officials there, Khullar, who returned from the United States recently, said: “I am under continued quarantine inside my house since my return 12 days ago. I have neither stepped outside home nor met anyone. I have been attending to my work either through video conference or clearing files. Even while clearing files,I wear gloves and am in complete isolation .”
He went on to add: “The staff comes only to my camp office which is a unit from my home. They always come masked, leave the dak (post) and other papers and go away. I neither touch any paper with bare hands nor do I have any physical interaction with any of them. I attend all meetings only through video-conferencing.”
Asked how the Covid-19 poster that had been put up by the Chandigarh administration had gone missing from outside his house, he said, “I have never stepped outside and have not seen any poster on the gate.”
{{/usCountry}}Asked how the Covid-19 poster that had been put up by the Chandigarh administration had gone missing from outside his house, he said, “I have never stepped outside and have not seen any poster on the gate.”
{{/usCountry}}A new poster, announcing that he was in quarantine till April 4, was pasted again by Chandigarh officials outside his house in Sector 16 after the first one was found torn.
When contacted, UT adviser Manoj Kumar Parida said: “It is mandatory for the person whose name is on the quarantined poster to stay in isolation. For his/her family, the advisory recommends them to follow isolation rules, but it is not mandatory. In this particular case, we are examining whether any violation took place.”
“We have directed the police to ensure no quarantined person violates norms. We are also taking help of resident welfare associations and the local councillors to inform us if there is any violation. Neighbours of such persons are also informing the administration about any such violation,” Parida said.