Puri: A large number of persons working outside the state for long have been facing hostile villagers on their return to home in the wake of coronavirus menace and closure of companies and business houses.
With the closure of business houses, outbreak of COVID-19, these people have started returning to their native villages with their families. Surprisingly, they were now facing hostile villagers on their arrival at village.
Suspecting that they might have brought virus with them the village heads are reportedly asking them to produce corona negative certificates.
This led to tension in Satyabadi, Brahmagiri, Delang and Krushnaprasad areas in Puri district. In some cases police were approached.
It has become a problem for the administration to settle these people returning to their own village.
Puri District Collector Balwant Singh in a video message warned people not to ostracise families or individuals returning home from other states fearing that they might have brought coronavirus with them.
“They should behave like sensible persons. The incoming villagers should get examined their health condition at PHCs or hospitals in their respective areas,” Singh said.
He further said if anything is found suspicious, the local medicos could inform the control room adding that persons coming home should be allowed to live in their homes and maintain distance from others for a period of 14 days.
The Collector said if any of them feel cough, cold and fever should go to the nearby PHC or health centres and get examined or inform the control room.
The administration, he said, would take care of them. Even villagers could inform the local officials about return of villagers from corona affected states or countries.
The villagers, Singh said, should not take law into their hands and appealed to the villagers to maintain peace and brotherhood.
There were reports that two families returned to their village in Krushnaprasad block after their companies in Bengaluru were closed.
They were not allowed to enter the village. The village head demanded corona negative certificate to allow them to live in village. They were running from pillar to post to get the certificate.
The Collector has directed all the police stations to take action against rumour mongers spreading fake news on coronavirus.