Siliguri localities sealed to stem spread The police put iron rails and bamboo barriers in Jyotinagar and the adjoining areas like Bankimnagar, Shastrinagar and Sarkarpara

A sealed entry point to Jyotinagar in Siliguri. (Passang Yolmo)

Bireswar Banerjee & Binita Paul, TT, 21.04.20,  Siliguri: Authorities cordoned off a number of localities and a residential building here on Monday after suspected and confirmed coronavirus positive cases had been reported from those areas.

Police and the health department have sealed Jyotinagar and some adjoining areas, a railway colony and a residential complex near the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital and declared them as containment zones.

The residents will soon be screened to prevent the spread of the virus.

The police put iron rails and bamboo barriers in Jyotinagar and the adjoining areas like Bankimnagar, Shastrinagar and Sarkarpara.

“The residents were told that entry and exit would not be allowed. All necessary help would be extended to them till the restriction is lifted,” said a source in the administration.

Last month, a woman from Kalimpong had visited a relative’s house at Jyotinagar and she died from Covid-19 on March 30. Four of her relatives tested positive for the coronavirus and they have subsequently recovered.

A railway employee at the railway colony had died from suspected Covid-19. A nurse who is posted at the NBMCH tested positive, along with her husband and mother-in-law. Their housing complex has been sealed.

“We had repeatedly asked people of the containment zones not to move out of their home unnecessarily. But they didn’t heed the directive and hence, we were forced to cordon off these areas,” a police officer said.

Sushanta Roy, the officer on special duty deputed by the state government for Covid-19 management in north Bengal, said the residents of the containment zones would be screened. “We have obtained data from electoral rolls, police and the Siliguri Municipal Corporation. Workers were engaged to start community health surveillance,” he added.

Siliguri mayor Asok Bhattacharya sought the residents’ cooperation in the community screening.

Death in Dubai

A 36-year-old youth from a tea garden near Sonada in the Darjeeling hills died from Covid-19 in Dubai on Sunday, family sources said.

The village in Sonada is about 20km from Darjeeling.

The brother of the deceased said the Sonada youth had been admitted to a Dubai hospital on April 10. “My brother admitted himself to the hospital on April 10. That day, we could briefly talk to him and he said he would call us later,” the brother said.

However, repeated calls from Sonada to the youth in Dubai went unanswered.

“We received a call around 4pm yesterday informing us about the death. Some people from the HR department of the company where my brother was working had called and informed that he had died from Covid-19,”said the brother.

The family, however, has not received any official document from the Dubai hospital.

Ponnambalam S, DM, Darjeeling also said the administration had not yet received any official communication.

Additional reporting by Vivek Chhetri in Darjeeling 

(Courtesy, source and link- The Telgraph- https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/west-bengal/siliguri-localities-sealed-to-stem-coronavirus-spread/cid/1766645?ref=west-bengal_home-template )