A young man who recently returned to Assam from Tamil Nadu amid the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown has been forced by people in his village in Sonitpur district to undergo the mandatory home quarantine in a tree house.
Amosh Basumatary came back from Chennai on May 26, after the car-seat manufacturing company where he worked shut down because of losses due to the lockdown, forcing him and many others to return to their home states.
“I spent three nights at an institutional quarantine facility in Dekhiajuli and was released after my Covid-19 test came negative. But when I reached home, people from our village insisted that I spend 14 days in quarantine in a tree house,” said the 21-year old.
All people returning to Assam from other states have to spend a 14 days in institutional and home quarantine. Those who test negative for the Coronavirus are allowed to go home and spend the rest of the period in isolation.
Residents of Ansaipur, who built the bamboo tree house on the outskirts of the village located close to the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, insisted that Basumatary spend another 14 days in isolation, in addition to the three nights in institutional quarantine.
{{/usCountry}}Residents of Ansaipur, who built the bamboo tree house on the outskirts of the village located close to the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, insisted that Basumatary spend another 14 days in isolation, in addition to the three nights in institutional quarantine.
{{/usCountry}}“I’ve completed four nights in the tree house and have to spend 10 more. Though this is not as comfortable as home, I am willing to spend the next 10 days for the safety of other villagers,” said the Class IX dropout.
Assam has been witnessing rains over the past few days, and the tree house covered with a plastic sheet leaks a bit whenever there is a heavy downpour. The people of the village have provided Basumatary 20 kg of rice but he has no other ingredient to prepare decent meals.
“I wish they had given me some pulses and spices. I am eating yams and edible ferns found near the tree, but sometimes it gets tough. My elder brother, who stays in the village with his family, brings water for me. Fortunately, wild elephants that roam in this area haven’t come this way yet,” he said.
Basumatary went to Chennai in 2018 and spent two years there, hoping to earn well and send money back to his family. But now he doesn’t wish to go back to Tamil Nadu, and plans to start farming in his village once his quarantine period is over.
Kamaljyoti Borah, circle officer of Dhekiajuli, said: “I’m not aware of this specific case. But we know of cases in villages in the area where residents have constructed huts for returnees to undergo home quarantine.
“Because of the spread of Covid-19, there’s a fear among villagers, plus most houses in the villages are small and don’t have enough rooms where someone can undergo home isolation according to the guidelines.”
Till Tuesday, nearly 250,000 people had returned to Assam from different parts of the country. Assam recorded 1,673 Covid-19 cases till Wednesday afternoon, and nearly 1,500 of them were people who had returned from other states.