A view of Ganeshnagar quarantine centre managed by Nagaland Police. It received the first batch of returnees numbering about 500 on June 6. (Screenshot/Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Dimapur | June 6
Nagaland’s largest quarantine centre- Ganeshnagar, managed by Nagaland Police received its first batch of returnees numbering about 500 on Friday evening with the arrival of the train from Bengaluru.
According to Robert Longchari, who is facilitating the reception of all stranded Nagas coming into the state by flight, train or road at the Dimapur Agri Expo Reception Centre, in the coming week, they may be able to accommodate another 500.
Longchari said, presently there are a little less than 3000 people accommodated in different quarantine centres with the capacity being 3500. “But we have another big train on the 8th (June) from Gujarat, and also Maharashtra and Kerala. The quarantine facilities that we have will be very minimal,” he said. He explained that as in the case of Chennai group, there were 200 people short when they turned up even though they registered. So, wherever they are placed, even if it is not full, they cannot send more people to that group.
As per the latest SOP, he further highlighted that all the districts have to come and collect the returnees. However, he said there are a lot of practical problems as many interior districts are facing transportation issues and it may not be feasible for districts like Longleng and Kiphire to come just to pick one or two passengers.
In an inconclusive meeting held today, the team had also discussed how to manage and deal with the issue. “We have about 30-40 returnees waiting here and we have put them in the Transit Camp at the Agri Expo (a facility not meant for the returnees), but we are also worried if somebody develops symptoms,” he said.
Dimapur, he further divulged has a lot of quarantine centres that are managed by NGOs and Churches in institutions like Livingstone and Government College, Dimapur. However, while different institutions have been currently used as quarantine centres, they also want to have their institutions back once the current batch goes. These are some of the problems, he pointed out.
