Over 250 passengers from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — who arrived at railway stations in Delhi on Monday — were sent to institutional quarantine for failing to produce COVID-related documents like tests or vaccination, said officials concerned.
“Around 253 passengers who arrived from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh at New Delhi and Nizamuddin Railway stations on Monday were identified and taken to quarantine centres,” said an official.
“The passengers are being checked by the teams of Delhi government and civil defence. Those who require quarantine are being taken to designated centres at DDU Marg and Sultanpuri. Delhi Police was assisting officials to make the driving hassle-free,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Railways) Harendra Kumar Singh.
The police and Railway Protection Force are assisting them in maintaining law and order as well as to prevent any untoward incident, he said.
Some of the passengers, who were taken to the quarantine facility set up at a school near ITO, complained about lack of facilities.
“The rooms are unclean, and we have not been given food although we are kept here since morning. There are also children among us who have not been given anything to eat,” said one of the passengers.
Another passenger said they were headed to Punjab from Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh when they were rounded up and sent to the quarantine centre.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) last week mandated 14 days of institutional quarantine of people arriving in the Capital from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana through any mode of transport.
Quarantine rules
Those who have been administered both doses of any COVID vaccine or carry a negative RT-PCR test report not older than 72 hours prior to undertaking the journey, have to undergo home or institutional quarantined for seven days.
The DDMA issued the quarantine order in view of a new COVID-19 strain — with a shorter incubation period and high transmission rate — in the two States.
The progress of the virus is quicker in this strain, said the DDMA.
Last Thursday, the Delhi government had ordered that travellers from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana would have to undergo mandatory quarantine.
