Centre team alleges state non-cooperation

SNS, SILIGURI 26 APRIL 2020 : The Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) that is reviewing

the Covid-19 situation in the three districts of Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri and Kalimpong toda slammed the state government once again over its 'non-cooperation.' According to team members, they were yet to get information they had sought from the state government. The central team also iterated that the lockdown was not being followed properly.

Team members today visited the factory of a tea plantation, and prominent market areas in Siliguri to assess the situation.

"We are still requesting the state government to support in our visit, but as of now it is not doing that. We are not getting any cooperation but we are requesting them again. We have not got information we have sought and we are still waiting and requesting for the same," said the leader of the team for north Bengal. Vineet Joshi, the additional secretary to the ministry of human resource development.

Mr Joshi, who is leading a multi-disciplinary team of five members, has flagged concerns in a letter to the chief secretary, Rajiva Sinha, on 24 April and sought to know of the measures taken by the state to combat Covid-19 in north Bengal.

He has suggested stricter lockdown and deployment of more field officers to avoid any further outbreak of Covid 19.The central team also lamented the fact that no state government official accompanied them in their visit to Kalimpong yesterday.

Talking about the lockdown, Mr Joshi said it appeared that people did not take it seriously. "It should be taken more seriously." he said, also stressing on maintaining social distance.

"The state government should come forward and it should do more." he added.

During the two-hour tour today, the team first visited the factory of the New Chumta tea plantation, where the members quizzed the management about the status of the work force, how the garden is being run, whether social distancing is being followed, and if santisers are being used.

According to officials of the tea garden, there are around 1,300 workers, but because of the order of the state government, it was operating with 25 percent workers.

The team then entered Siliguri town and visited some principal markets at around 1.55 pm.

At the chicken market at Bidhan Market, Mr Joshi inquired whether cleanliness was being maintained, and about the gap that the customers had been maintaining. He also inquired if there were volunteers or some other system to check queues, but he got answers in the negative.

The members also talked to owners of some grocery shops. "Shopkeepers have said that there has been no institutional arrangement to manage customers, like where to stand, and how to stand," Mr Joshi said.

Later, they visited a makeshift vegetable market at the Kanchanjungha stadium fair grounds.

Meanwhile, 12 persons were today admitted in Desun Hospital in Siliguri, the hospital taken over by the government to treat suspected Covid cases, sources said. With this, there are now 23 patients undergoing treatment in the hospital with Covid 19 like symptoms.

Quarantine team members, says minister

On the other hand, North Bengal Development minister Rabindranath Ghosh today said: "I will request Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha to make arrangements to quarantine all members of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team as they have come from states which are epicenters of the coronavirus.They have come here to spread coronavirus from Delhi. The administration should collect swabs from them for testing."

Plea to bring back students from Kota

Several parents have requested state tourism minister Gautam Deb to take initiatives to bring back their wards from Rajasthan's educational hub of Kota, where they have been stranded due to the lockdown.

The father of a student Anruddha Banerjee said her daughter was leading a miserable life there.The parents have also written to chief minister Mamata Banerjee, requesting her to take steps.

Mr Deb said the state government was taking steps but that it was not possible to bring a huge number of students unless and until the lockdown was withdrawn partially.