UP migrants resent quarantine posters pasted on houses

Various districts in Uttar Pradesh have now started putting up posters outside the houses of those who have been kept in home quarantine, particularly migrant workers. People in quarantine, however, resent the move because it adds to the social stigma of being the corona carriers.

Agra Divisional Commissioner Anil Kumar said the quarantine posters were put earlier also in a few districts, but the government has now reiterated that it in view of the influx of the migrants, quarantine posters should be put up.

The Uttar Pradesh government had stated in its May 1 order that the quarantine posters should be put outside the houses of all new entrants into the state, including the migrant workers who have returned in the past few weeks.

Districts, including Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Hapur, Chitrakoot, Ghazipur, Etah, Gonda, Mathura, Lalitpur, Varanasi and Pratapgarh, have already covered most of the houses.

In a bizarre example, officials have pasted the quarantine notice on a tree in front of the hut of a migrant worker in Ayodhya because the house did not have a boundary wall.

A senior official said that special attention needs to be given to rural areas as the system in remote areas is not robust and strict observance of home quarantine is the key to curb the novel corona virus infection.

Mainpuri District Magistrate, Mahendra Bahadur Singh, said that 1,500 posters have been pasted in a day and the process is on.

"Around 5,000 migrant workers have returned to the district till now and all gram panchayats have been informed about it. Their homes, where they are quarantined, will also be painted with a cross mark for easy identification," he said.

Aligarh District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh said that he has directed his officials to ensure 100 per cent compliance in pasting these posters within a week.

The aim is to ensure strict home quarantine so the returnees from other states, which are around 17,000 in the district, observe the quarantine protocol.

The village monitoring committees, headed by the respective village head, have been given the responsibility of monitoring the houses where migrant returnees have been quarantined. Health officials will also make regular visits.

Migrant workers, however, are resenting the pasting of quarantine posters.

"There is also a stigma attached to us and we are looked upon as corona carriers. With these posters, we are being made to feel like criminals," said Mahendra Singh of Sultanpur who is presently under home quarantine.