E-Paper
To escape 28-day quarantine, 20 Odisha migrants jump off train
Odisha government has made quarantine mandatory for migrant workers returning from other states.
At least 20 migrant workers returning to Odisha on a Shramik Special train from Ahmedabad got down from the train by pulling the chain in Angul district hours before they were to be quarantined.
The incident took place this evening near Majhika in Angul district. “Many managed to flee, but locals apprehended some of the violators. Later, they were handed over to the police,” said police officials in Angul.
Though about a dozen migrants escaped taking advantage of the darkness, locals apprehended 7 persons roaming suspiciously near the track. They admitted having escaped from the ‘Sharmik Special’ train, said Angul SP Jagmohan Meena.
The state government has now made it mandatory for the arriving migrant workers to stay in 28 days of quarantine including 21 days of institutional quarantine to prevent the community spread of Covid-19.
Migrants returning from states like Gujarat, Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have led to a rapid surge of Covid-19 cases in Odisha since last fortnight, with close to 300 of the 377 cases coming from them. Since last week, there have been quite a few incidences of migrants jumping quarantine in Odisha.
The HT Guide to Coronavirus COVID-19
Last week, 150 migrants in Beguniapada block of Ganjam district fled the quarantine centres after complaining of lack of water and quality of food. Later, 128 of them were caught. Similarly, some of the migrants in Bhadrak district coming in a bus from Surat had got down several kilometres ahead of the quarantine centre and gone straight to their homes. The Ganjam district administration threatened to arrest people jumping quarantine.
