Jharkhand HC seeks details of Covid situation in Hindpiri area

Ranchi: A division bench of the Jharkhand high court on Tuesday sought reply from the state government on the number of people tested for coronavirus in Hindpiri locality, the epicentre of Covid-19 in the city, and asked for information on the standard operating procedures (SOP) for migrants returning to the state.
The division bench comprising Chief Justice Ravi Ranjan and Justice S N Prasad issued the order while hearing a bunch of public interest litigations (PILs) related to prevention of the viral infection in the state.
Advocate general Rajiv Ranjan said, “As soon as the hearing began, the court asked about number of testing done in Hindpiri and how many are positive at present. The bench also asked about the number of migrants who have arrived in state and how they are being tested for the virus. The hearing has been adjourned till Friday.”
Indrajit Sinha, one of the lawyers appearing in the hearing of the PILs, said according to the state government’s report, the doubling rate in Jharkhand is higher than the national figure. He further said the doubling rate of the state is 8.8 days compared to 13.21 days nationally. He added that the growth rate in the state for the last seven days was 8.20% compared to 5.39% at the national level.
It may be stated here that the Centre is also a party in the PILs. Assistant solicitor general of India, Rajiv Sinha, who is representing the Centre, said he had already informed the court in the previous hearing that the Union government has issued SOPs for migrant labourers. On medical kits, Sinha said that the Centre will supply them according to patient load in the states. He said states have also been allocated funds to make their own purchases.