Assam sets June 30 deadline to handle returning citizens

GUWAHATI: The Assam government wants to wrap up the process of receiving home-bound people stranded outside and their subsequent quarantine by June 30, so that from July it can shift its entire focus on managing the floods, which have already affected over than 30,000 people and displaced nearly 9,000.
State health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "Lingering with this process will make things difficult for us. We want to close this chapter (coming of people) by June 30 because from July we have to prepare for managing the floods."
To hasten up, Himanta asked people wanting to return home to reach the state in the next 15 days and gave a green light to airline companies to fly in as many as possible. "From Assam's point of view, we want people who are planning to return, to come back by June 10. Thereafter, there is a 14-day quarantine period and so by June 30 we will be able to close the entire exercise," Himanta said.
"If the airlines carriers want to fly in more people to Assam, they can, provided they give us prior information. We do not want to impose any rationing now," he added.
Himanta said the frequency of flights is likely to increase to 32 in the next four to five days after Kolkata airport starts operating. "There are also about 8,000 people travelling by trains but have been stranded at different locations due to the Ampahn cyclone and they are expected to arrive soon," Himanta said.
From May 5, the inter-state movement was allowed by the Union ministry of home affairs and over 65,000 people have reached the state till Monday. Assam's SOP for all incoming people either by train, air or road requires everyone to be compulsorily quarantined and tested for Covid-19. According to a health department estimate, another 10 lakh people might be planning to return to the state.
The state is facing a dual challenge of managing the post-return process of every individual right from screening, testing samples to quarantining to providing treatment to those who have tested positive for Covid-19, together with deteriorating flood situation.
The first wave of the annual floods, which struck the state on May 22, has affected 30,701 people in five districts - Dibrugarh, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Darrang and Goalpara - and it is worsening. According to Assam State Disaster Management Authority, 8,941 people, including 2,281 children in Goalpara district, have been displaced and have taken shelter in 33 relief camps. Over 11,000 animals have also been affected and over 570 hectares of standing crop area have been destroyed so far.