MINORITIES PANEL URGES RELEASE OF TABLIGHI JAMAAT MEMBERS AT QUARANTINE CAMPS

Asia Coronavirus (COVID-19) Most Read

Mon 27 April 2020:

The Delhi Minorities Commission has said that keeping members of the Tablighi Jamaat in COVID-19 quarantine camps for periods far exceeding the mandated 14 days, in case of those suspected to have contracted the coronavirus, was “creating ill-will in the Muslim community and may lead to court cases.” It has, therefore, urged Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain to arrange for their immediate release from these centres.

‘Jamaat members have stayed for 28 days in camp, instead of mandated 14’

Through a letter, the commission chairman Zafarul-Islam Khan and member Kartar Singh Kochhar said, “It will be in the fitness of things that all such people who have spent 28 days in these camps and did not test positive should be allowed to go home or at least allowed to live somewhere else in Delhi while the lockdown continues”.

The panel said that most of the Jamaat members who had been taken to quarantine camps from the Tabligh Markaz in Hazrat Nizamuddin late last month had spent around 28 days there – which was twice the amount of period mandated for those kept under watch for the coronavirus as per quarantine guidelines laid down by the World Health Organisation. “This means that these people are being unnecessarily kept in detention when 14 days is the longest period for the appearance of coronavirus symptoms in an infected person. People in other quarantine centres have been allowed to go home after 14 days if they tested negative,” the commission said.

‘Two members died due to poor food, medical facility at quarantine camps’

The commission further added that thousands of people had been kept in quarantine camps set up at Sultanpuri, Wazirabad, Narela and Dwarka. It alleged that provisions for the supply of food and medical care was not satisfactory in these camps. Incidentally, a few days ago, the panel had also brought this matter to the attention of Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal through letters written to them, seeking their urgent intervention in providing proper care to those at these quarantine centres.

In the letter to Jain, the commission has stated that the quarantined people in these camps include elderly as well as people with health issues like diabetes and heart ailments. “Two of them, who were diabetic, died recently in Sultanpuri camp due to the denial of adequate medical care and failure to supply medicines and food in time.”

The commission added in its letter that this is the month of fasting, Ramzan, and most of the Muslims in these camps are fasting. “Under the conditions prevailing in the quarantine centres, they are finding it hard to cope with the harsh life in these camps.”

No special facility during Ramzan, notice issued to DM (North)

The letter also said that the commission had learnt that the situation in the quarantine camp being run at the police training school at Wazirabad was “even worse”. “This camp is supervised by District Magistrate North who is seemingly oblivious to the condition of the inmates in this camp where fans and even mugs and buckets are not provided and inmates are not allowed to buy anything from outside,” the two commission officials said.

The panel, on Saturday, which was the first day of Ramzan, also said that those at the Wazirabad camp were not provided with any pre-dawn food and therefore went on fast on an empty stomach. “Then for breaking their fast at sunset yesterday, they were provided with just two bananas and three dates each while again no pre-dawn meal was provided (this morning) to them. This is here that Jamiat Ulama stepped in and provided them with pre-dawn food, which is a matter of shame for the administrators of the camp,” the commission said.

In view of the lapse, the commission said it had issued a notice to the District Magistrate North yesterday. “On knowing that the situation did not improve in the Wazirabad camp even today, Sunday, the commission has sent a second notice to District Magistrate North directing the DM to personally supervise the supply of the essentials, especially in-time provision of adequate food to the inmates.”

-Source: The Wire

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *