People under government quarantine allege misbehaviour by officials

Four people, suspected of being infected by Covid-19 and currently under isolation at two government-run quarantine centres in Greater Noida, on Thursday complained of misbehaviour by officials, delay in food and unhygienic conditions under which they are being forced to lived.

A 42-year-old domestic help of two Ceasefire employees is under quarantine along with her family for the past 13 days and has been waiting for her test reports for Covid-19.

“I have been kept under quarantine at the Galgotias hostel along with my daughter while my husband and son are at the Kasna centre. Whenever we go to ask for our reports, we are shooed away rudely. The premises and rooms where we live in are very dirty. Food comes very late and nothing is given for breakfast, except tea. I just want to know the reports so that we can leave. It is difficult to live like this for so many days,” said the 42-year-old domestic help, who worked at the houses of two Ceasefire employees in sector 93.

The woman lives with her family in Gheja village of Noida in Sector 93. “The staff over here have not addressed any of our queries. It’s been 13 days and our test reports are yet to come. We just want to know if we can go home . I worked at houses of people who worked with Ceasefire company in sector 135. We were brought here on April 4,” the domestic help told HT over the phone..

The district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar said he had received complaints regarding the cleanliness of the premises at the Galgotias hostel, but the issue has been resolved. “I received complaints and we sent the chief development officer to look into the matter. The cleaning has already started. As far as a complaint regarding food is concerned, I will have to cross check that. If there is any issue then it will be resolved,” said Suhas LY, Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate.

The teenager son of the woman is at the Kasna quarantine centre, along with his physically challenged father. “My father is in another room. My mother and sister are at Galgotias. Life is very difficult under such circumstances. We want to go home if our results are negative, but no official is ready to give us any feedback. When we ask for food, we are shouted at,” said the 15-year-old boy.

“There are many reports which are pending because load has been increasing on laboratories tackling Covid-19 tests. Most of these delayed reports had gone to the Aligarh Muslim University, which is facing a lot of pressure following increase in number of sampling. We are also waiting for their reports and they will be informed as soona s we have them. Now, National Institute of Biologicals in Noida is also conducting tests, so the pressure has eased a little. But their reports were sent to AMU. One lab has already started functioning at the Government Institute of Medical Sceinces and another will be ready soon at the Super Speciality Paediatric Hospital and Post Graduate Teaching Institute,” district magistrate Suhas said..

The daughter of the domestic help said that the cleaning staff was on leave following which the premises had become very dirty. “The cleaning staff wasn’t coming to clean our rooms or the premises. When we asked, we were told to mind our own business. There is no fixed timing for lunch and dinner here,” said the 23-year-old woman.

The district magistrate said, “Few of the cleaning staff at Galgotias had gone on leave but now they have been replaced by others. Only once, some food related issue had come up and it has been resolved. We are ensuring that the basic facilities are in place.”