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Ex-MP says Covid stamp at airport caused skin burns
Former Member of Parliament and national spokesperson for Congress Madhu Goud Yaskhi on Sunday said he has sustained skin burns and infection from the indelible ink used for stamping international passengers on arrival at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport.
Former Member of Parliament and national spokesperson for Congress Madhu Goud Yaskhi on Sunday said he has sustained skin burns and infection from the indelible ink used for stamping international passengers on arrival at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport.
Yaskhi was stamped when he arrived at the airport from New York, on Saturday, to catch a connecting flight to Hyderabad.
Currently, all the international passengers arriving at the Delhi airport who are approved for home quarantine are stamped by the officials of their respective states. All those who are to be quarantined in Delhi are stamped by Delhi government’s health department.
An official from the airport said it is being looked into if Yaskhi was stamped by Delhi government health department officials or by his Telangana state health department officials.
At present, all international passengers arriving Delhi need to undergo mandatory institutional quarantine. However, passengers can apply for an exemption from institutional quarantine by uploading their recent Covid-19 negative report on Delhi airports portal Air Suvidha ahead of their flight. Once approved, the passengers will only require home quarantine. Passengers can also get themselves tested for Covid-19 upon their arrival at the Delhi airport and if found negative may head straight for home quarantine.
Yaskhi, who had arrived at the IGI airport around 12pm on Saturday had to board a connecting flight to Hyderabad. Before he headed for his flight, he was stamped on his left arm and was to undergo home quarantine in Hyderabad.
“The moment I was stamped I started feeling itchy. I thought it was normal. By 4.15pm when my flight took off, the irritation grew and I felt a burning sensation. Gradually, it turned black and it became intolerable,” he said.
After reaching Hyderabad, Yaskhi said he immediately contacted one of his dermatologist friends for medical advice. “My doctor told me that gradually my skin will peel off and that complete recovery may take more than a month,” he said.
Yakshi, a former MP from Nizamabad constituency in Telangana, tweeted on a picture of his hand on Sunday, tagging Union civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri and asking him to look into the matter.
Yaskhi tweeted, “Dear @HardeepSPuri Ji, can you please look into the chemical being used at Delhi airport for stamping on passengers coming from abroad? Yesterday I was stamped at @DelhiAirport and this is how my hands look now.”
Responding to his tweet, Puri wrote, “Thank you for drawing my attention to this. A have spoken to CMD AAI.”
Yaskhi said he tweeted the picture to bring this to everyone’s attention and to ensure that no other passenger goes through the same experience.
DIAL, the Delhi airport operator, also responded to Yakshi’s tweet. “We deeply regret the inconvenience caused. The ink used for stamping is a standard indelible ink. We’ve reported the issue to the Delhi State Authorities. Currently, this batch of ink is being kept aside for testing by the supplier and further desired action. Thank you for highlighting this issue.”
Officials from the Union health ministry did not respond to calls, texts or emails. When contacted, Delhi government also did not comment on the matter.
Somesh Gupta, a dermatologist at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) said such it could be a case of dermatitis. “If you apply any dye, it may react with skin. Stamping in this way is not a good practise. They must find a substitute like in AIIMS they put a paper band on the wrists for identification,” Gupta said.
