DIMAPUR, May 23 - The Opposition Naga People�s Front (NPF) Legislature Party today asked the Nagaland Government to take the issue of testing of returnees with all seriousness and keep them under strict observation.
The party said the returnees should not be sent to their respective districts before ascertaining their health status. Thermal screening alone should not be the basis on which a person is determined as positive or negative, it added.
�With the BSL-3 laboratory established in Kohima, our State should be capable to test everyone so that it remains safe and protected,� the party said after a meeting held at the residence of Opposition leader TR Zeliang here.
The party alleged that little has been done on the ground for the safe return of stranded people. �We make a fervent appeal to the Chief Minister and his colleagues to kindly take serious note of the sufferings of the stranded people and arrange appropriate modes of transportation at the earliest,� the party said.
It said while the neighbouring States have been doing a commendable job to bring back their people, Nagaland is still in a state of confusion. The party demanded that the funds received from the Central Government to fight COVID-19 need to be used judiciously while maintaining transparency and accountability.
The NPF said it was distressing that the burden of implementing and maintaining home quarantine has been passed on to village councils. The village council members are not medically sound to follow the protocol in managing people in quarantine centres, it pointed out.
The party said apart from the meagre grant-in-aid, the State Government has not allocated any funds to the village councils.
