Silchar: More than 300 passengers who landed at Silchar Airport on Wednesday created disorder and fled the facility to escape by force. COVID-19 testing, officials said Thursday and alleged criminal proceedings will be instituted against them.
Sumit Sattawan, deputy commissioner of the Cachar district, said a total of 690 passengers on board six planes had arrived at the airport from different parts of the country.
He said they would undergo swab tests at the airport and nearby Tikol Model Hospital.
“About 300 people created chaos in both places, mainly over the payment of Rs 500 for the tests,” he said.
The Assam government has made it mandatory for all air passengers arriving in the state to undergo free Rapid Antigen testing, followed by an RT-PCR test for 500 R, even if the RAT report is negative.
The officer claimed the passengers had violated the rules, saying: ‘We have their database and we will locate it. We will institute criminal proceedings under section 188 of the IPC (Disobedience to Order duly promulgated by the civil servant) and other relevant provisions. ”
Of the 690 passengers, 189 were tested and six were found to be infected with the virus. Many people were exempted from tests because they were transport passengers en route to neighboring states such as Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura, Sattawan said.
The Assam government announced on Wednesday night that all people coming from outside will have to undergo a seven-day compulsory housing quarantine, like the state’s COVID-19 total shot up to 2,299,138 with 1,150 deaths.
Source: Telangana Today