A Naga village in Manipur has prepared for its lockdown returnees with what ecotourists might pay to experience — cottages on a hill with a view.
The Tungjoy Village Council has built 80 cottages to quarantine community members who are coming back after being stranded in various parts of India due to the COVID-19 lockdown.
Tungjoy, inhabited by the Poumai Naga tribe, is in the Paomata subdivision of Senapati district bordering Nagaland. The village about 110 km north of Manipur’s capital Imphal.
The cottages on a hill about 1 km from Tungjoy have been erected in three clusters for people returning from as many zones . Volunteers have been deployed to ensure the returnees maintain social distancing norms and check into a zone marked red, orange and green with plastic ropes.
“Ours is a big village with about 1,000 households. People from the village stranded outside wanted to return home. We built the cottages to keep them in a safe place after discussions among all stakeholders,” said S. Kho John, a Tungjoy village leader and president of United Naga Council, an apex Naga social organisation in Manipur.
The tin-roofed cottages, made of bamboo and other local materials, have been electrified. Each cottage meant for one person has an electric bulb, a charging socket, a bamboo bed, a bamboo gas table and a toilet besides piped water, Mr. John said.
Also read: Manipur gearing to receive special train with 1,141 from Chennai
“We spent about ₹3 lakh to make the cottages,” he added.
Three information centres have also been erected with the fittest among the villagers assigned the duty of coordinating with the people arriving from outside.
Family members have been entrusted with providing food and other essential items to the returnees while the village authorities have taken the responsibility of volunteers, who would be guarding them round the clock for ensuring they do not break the rules.
About a 100 people from Tungjoy are studying or working in other parts of the country. A few returnees were expected to reach the village by Thursday evening.
The people will be medically examined after 14 days of stay in the cottages and will be allowed to go home if found healthy, a member of the Village Council said.
Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren Singh has appreciated the initiative of the Tungjoy Village Council. “I salute the Poumai people for their discipline and hard work,” he said.
