Inhuman conditions at quarantine centres behind spike in COVID-19 cases in Bengal: Adhir Ranjan

Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury alleged on Thursday that most of the quarantine centres in West Bengal do not have proper facilities, which is the cause behind the recent spike in the number of COVID-19 cases in the state.

He claimed that due to the "unhealthy and inhuman" living conditions, incidents of people running away from quarantine centres have come to light.

"In the last few days, there have been reports of people running away from quarantine centres, complaining about unhealthy and inhuman living conditions. The situation is so bad that if a normal person is quarantined at a centre, he or she is bound to get infected," Chowdhury, an MP from Murshidabad district, said.

The state government, during the last two months of lockdown, should have taken measures to set up more quarantine centres and firm up the facilities there, he said.

"But it did just the opposite. It kept on doing politics on the issue of migrant labourers. Initially, it was hesitant to bring them back and now, when they were forced, they have just left them to fend for themselves," he said.

The situation is so bad that due to the poor facilities at the quarantine centres, the number of positive cases is rising in the state, the Congress leader in the Lok Sabha said. His comments come in the backdrop of the state witnessing a steep rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in the last few days with over 1,600 detections since May 31.

Several incidents of people running away from quarantine centres have been reported from Birbhum, South 24 Parganas, Malda and Murshidabad districts as the migrant labourers lodged there complain of a "lack of proper facilities".

Referring to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement that over 8.5 lakh migrants workers have returned to the state, Chowdhury said the "figures only reflect the grave situation of unemployment in the state".

The Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal has failed to create job opportunities and that is why lakhs of people have to go out of the state in search of livelihoods, he said.