In NE, facility quarantine can be a ‘homely’ affair 

GUWAHATI: The Northeast is showing the way to make facility quarantine a “homely” affair for returnees.

Thousands of people stranded in other parts of the country during the extended lockdown have started returning to their home districts in the region by both road and rail.

In rural Manipur for instance, residents of Tungjoy village in Senapati district, about 115 km from state capital, Imphal, have built about 80 bamboo huts spread across hilly terrain to house returnees and make them feel at home in the midst of nature.

Not just natural beauty, there are some add-ons which might just about woo those who still dread the prospect of staying confined to a particular place for two weeks.

Each hut, meant for one person, is fitted with a bed, separate toilet, gas table and electricity with charging socket. Water supply is provided at various locations at the quarantine centre and essential commodities are also stocked for the inmates to prepare food.

“Northeast shows the way. Kudos Manipur and CM N. Biren Singh,” DoNER minister, Jitendra Singh tweeted after being impressed by the unique initiative.

Acclaiming the effort of the village authority in the same vein, Manipur chief minister, N. Biren Singh took to social media, saying “I salute the Poumai tribe of Tungjoy for their discipline and hard work.”

The chief minister also said the state government is leaving no stone unturned to bring back people stuck in various parts of the country due to the ongoing lockdown.

According to the Manipur CM’s office, as many as 1140 stranded people from Manipur from Chennai by a special train have reached Jiribam railway station on Wednesday afternoon.

On the other hand, the East Siang district administration in Arunachal Pradesh has also resorted to a unique effort to not just serve “almost-home” cooked meals at the institutional quarantine centres but prepare a menu along with a routine involving light physical exercise and yoga in the morning and recreation activities in the evening.

To make sure that there is no monotony, the menu has variety for breakfast, lunch, evening tea and dinner each day.

From poori sabzi, bread/butter and boiled eggs to plain paratha, fried rice and noodles, the breakfasts appear wholesome. Lunch and dinner prepared at centralized kitchen sheds too have a meticulous mix of dishes from rice, roti, vegetables, egg curry, chicken and fish.

Disinfection and cleaning work by staff at the facilities are scheduled every morning and evening.

“Inspected our centralised midday meal kitchen tasked to cook hygienic food for institutional quarantine centres of the district currently housing asymptomatic returnees. Let homecoming be greeted and treated with ‘almost-home’ cooked meals,” East Siang deputy commissioner, Kinny Singh tweeted.