Ten chartered flight returnees to Dimapur not included in govt data

Morung Express News
Dimapur | May 29 


A chartered flight landed in Dimapur Airport on May 29 carrying stranded persons from Delhi.


According to reports, 10 persons and an infant were on the flight that landed in Dimapur at 12:45 pm. 


However, the 10 returnees did not figure in the list of returnees to Nagaland issued by the Control Room, Empowered Group (COVID-19), Dimapur on May 29 nor were they mentioned in the Principal Secretary, Home, Abhijit Sinha’s daily briefing. 


Official sources said that the medical department team and security as per SOP were on site before their arrival.


There were also other reports that a VIP was at the airport to receive the returnees. 


Speaking to The Morung Express before the flight’s arrival, the COVID-19 Control Room Dimapur said that the returnees will be taken to Agri Expo, where they will be screened and quarantined either in the government quarantine facility or they can opt for paid quarantine facility. 


The control room added that either way, the returnees will have to undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days as per protocol.
With the central government's permit for chartered flights to bring in stranded people, the Dimapur Airport Director said, "We will be seeing more chartered flights in the coming days."


Control Room, Empowered Group (COVID-19), Dimapur stated that 609 returnees had arrived in Dimapur on May 29.


However, the data included only returnees arriving by train, bus and private vehicles till 6:00pm. No mention was made of the chartered flight and its passengers.


The 609 returnees included 8 persons from New Delhi, 1 from Dibrugarh, 4 from Tamil Nadu, 128 from West Bengal, 369 from Rajasthan, 2 from Guwahati, 4 from Uttarakhand, and 93 from Punjab. 


When enquired as to why the returnees from the chartered flight were not included in the list, the control room could not provide an explanation and said that the District Surveillance Officer (DSO) should be contacted. 


Attempts to reach the DSO and other officials remained unanswered.