Guwahati: Containment Zone residents in Ghoramara raise fuss, complain of water scarcity

Guwahati: The 1000-or-so residents of the Pragjyotish Housing Society Complex in Southern Guwahati's   received a sharp jolt yesterday when the district administration declared the area as 'containment zone' after a Mumbai-returned resident tested positive for the Covid-19 pathogen.

When the patient, a girl who had come back on a flight and was kept in home quarantine with her father and elder sister tested positive, the authorities were quick to tag the area as a containment zone. However, the residents, who have been facing an acute shortage of water, soon raised their voices in dissent after officers failed to show up to address their grievances.

"There are 320 families here, so overall at least 1,000 people dwell in this area who are facing inconvenience. For 3 days, we have not received water, thus it is understandable that people would be peeved, that a hue-and-cry would be raised. Yesterday, this area was tagged as a containment zone and our problems have been compounded further since the water tankers are not being allowed in. The administration is yet to provide any solution to our problems", complained a local resident.

"The Circle Officer said that he would come here to take stock of the situation, but he is yet to arrive here", he said, adding, "the girl who tested positive was in strict home quarantine and had been observing the quarantine period dutifully without any fail. Should the entire compound be sealed?"

This scene has unfolded in Assam amid a dramatic surge in the number of Covid-19 cases; with the number of virus patients increasing at a rapid pace, the number of containment zones has also increased rapidly.

Although the Union Government has been quick to deny reports of community transmission in the county that has now overtaken the UK to rank third in the list of countries that have been hit hardest by the pathogen, Assam Finance, and Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has hinted at a community transmission in Guwahati. On Wednesday, Sarma revealed that as many as 13 patients in the city have not reported any travel history.

To contain the virus, the Government is not leaving any stone unturned to seal the areas that have been reported as 'volatile'. Yesterday, four more areas in Birubari, Barsapara, Athgaon Pukhuri Par, and Kushal Nagar in Bamunimoidam have been declared as containment zone by the district administration of Kamrup (Metro).

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