Nuapada: They have already spent 14 days at the quarantine centre at Mundagaon Government Vocational Training Centre in Nuapada district’s Khariar road town. But the inmates alleged Friday that their swabs are yet to be collected for testing.
One hundred and 61 persons belonging to various districts in Odisha and other states have been kept under quarantine in four centres in the Khariar road Notified Area Council (NAC).
Among them, 47 persons have been kept at the Mundagaon Government Vocational Training Centre. They alleged that none of the quarantine guidelines are being followed.
“Many of us have completed the mandatory 14-day quarantine period. However, our swab samples are yet to be collected for testing,” they said. “As we have not been tested yet, we are not being able to return to their homes,” they added.
The inmates also pointed out that there is shortage of drinking water and the quality of food being provided is very poor. “We have been kept confined here like prisoners,” said some labourers of Bangomunda locality in Bolangir district. They demanded they be shifted to the quarantine centres in their locality.
One also noticed that none of the inmates were wearing masks or maintaining social distancing.
When contacted, Khariar road NAC, executive officer Debendra Nath Maharana refuted the allegations. He informed all facilities are in place at the quarantine centres. “They are making false allegations. They are hoping that we will release them so that they can return home, but that is not happening now,” Maharana said.
PNN