Noida: Vehicle headlights used to conduct health checkup of 35 evacuated persons from Singapore

The 35 persons who were among those evacuated from Singapore were given a check-up under the headlights of vehicles as there was no electricity apparatus at the Community Health Centre (CHC) in Noida’s Bhangel.

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The health centre comes under the health department of the Gautam Budh Nagar district. According to the 35 returnees, there weren’t any tube lights or bulbs at the facility.

The travellers alleged they had to wait for over three hours to get their temperature and blood pressure checked and that too in the dark. They added that all of them were checked in an open area at the CHC where there was no light, after which administration officials switched on the headlights of their vehicles to provide some light.

“It is unbelievable that health facilities in Uttar Pradesh are so bad that they are screening people in the dark. Officials had to use the headlights of their vehicles to lighten the area where we were made to wait to get ourselves checked. We were made to wait for over three hours just to get our temperature and blood pressure checked,” said a 27-year-old lawyer from Ghaziabad who was evacuated from Singapore.

The returnees added the hotel where they are staying has not provided even basic facilities such as water, nor are there any room services, despite having to pay Rs 2,000 per day for a paid quarantine. “The Bhangel CHC area was full of mosquitoes. I had to drink tap water at the hotel as the hotel officials didn’t provide me with water for a long time. We are paying for the quarantine so at least basic facilities should be provided,” said a 39-year-old engineer from Ghaziabad.

Out of the 35 persons evacuated from Singapore, six are from the Noida district while the rest belong to Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Agra, Deoria and Lucknow. Initially, it was decided that people who are from the district will be put under institutional quarantine while others will be sent back to their hometowns.

These 35 persons, meanwhile, added that no social distancing was maintained at the CHC when they were taken for the checkup.

“There was so much confusion on Friday evening as we were told we will be going to our homes but then they informed us that all of us will have to be put under institutional quarantine for 14 days. We are paying for the quarantine but we aren’t even getting water on time. I had to drink tap water in the night as the hotel staff did not provide water despite many calls,” said another person from the group.

All the persons have been put under quarantine at the Savoy Suites at Pari Chowk which has been developed into a paid quarantine centre by the district administration.

The 35 persons also alleged they got no help in lifting their heavy luggage at the airport and the hotel.

“We were told that nobody will help us in shifting our luggage as they are scared of getting infected. There is a passenger here with two small children and she was struggling in putting her luggage inside the bus carrying us from the airport. At the hotel also, nobody helped us carry our luggage. The UP roadways bus which had come to pick us up was dirty,” said a 50-year-old passenger who was evacuated along with his wife.

“They are charging me Rs 2,000-plus-taxes per person so we are paying over Rs 4,000 for the two of us. They told us they can provide only four bottles of packaged water each day and we will have to pay extra if we need more. The quality of food is so bad that you can’t eat it. Though they are charging us, no extra towels, bed sheets, soap or water is provided to us,” added the man.

The district magistrate, meanwhile, pulled up his officers over conducting the health checkup of these 35 persons under the vehicle headlights, in the absence of electricity paraphernalia. “I have spoken to officials and we are looking into the matter. We have been trying to address all the issues of these people,” said district magistrate Suhas LY.

These persons have also said that there are no windows in the rooms as there is a centralized air-condition system, which has been switched off. “ACs are not allowed and there are no windows in the rooms, so we have to keep our doors open the whole day to get some fresh air,” said a college student from the group.

“We are trying to provide all possible services to the 35 persons but their issues will be conveyed to the concerned senior authorities,” said a hotel staff at the Savoy Suites, Greater Noida, requesting anonymity.

Gautam Budh Nagar chief medical officer, Dr Deepak Ohri, could not be reached for a comment.