After a video of those kept under quarantine desperately rushing to take food and water from behind locked gates of a facility in Agra in Uttar Pradesh went viral, authorities have said they have set “the situation right”.
Questions arose on the Uttar Pradesh government handling the coronavirus breakout and and it’s quarantine facilities after the video of those kept in a quarantine facility in Agra went viral. It also left one wondering about the Centre praising the “Agra model” to fight coronavirus.
People were seen grabbing water bottles, and food that was placed for them outside the gate, without following social distancing norms. In the video, a man in a personal protective equipment kit can be seen unceremoniously throwing biscuits at the those kept under lockdown.
The video was shot at the Hindustan College which has been turned into a quarantine facility.
NDTV reporter Alok Pandey tweeted the video.
Pandey later tweeted a video of Agra district magistrate Prabhu Narain Singh saying he had taken stock of the situation and “gaps in the system” had been filled.
Singh was quoted by NDTV as saying, “I went and inspected the spot. Everything has been set right. Whatever gaps were there, I have asked a senior official to investigate and fix responsibility. The team has been asked to ensure such complaints do not come again.”
Singh reportedly also said that this was an isolated incident because there was a delay of four hours in distributing food. He told “There was a gap of about four hours, and (in this time) they did all this. However, it was an isolated incident, and we have made sure that no such incident is repeated. Everything has been taken care of. Everything is fine now.”
Uttar Pradesh’s Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Awanish Kumar Awasthi meanwhile blamed this on a “slight delay” of distributing food and restlessness among those quarantined.
Awasthi was quoted by The Indian Express as saying, ”The situation has been taken care of. The DM has ordered an inquiry. There was a slight delay in distributing the food, that is why those staying at the quarantine centre became somewhat restless.”
The video that indicates complete mismanagement and mistreatment of those quarantined has raised questions on the Narendra Modi government touting the “Agra model” as something that should be followed by all states.
Earlier this month, the Centre had praised the “Agra model” and had asked other states to follow it too.
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