Passengers evade COVID testing after 6 pm at toll plaza Qazigund

Sameer Ahmad

Anantnag,19 May: Around 10,000 travelers have been subjected to COVID-19 testing on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway since April 9, with at least 90 among them have tested positive till date, said an official while speaking to Arising state.

A Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) facility was set up at Lower Munda near Qazigund in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district for the incoming travelers on April 9, following the spike in Covid-19 cases in Kashmir.

The tests are conducted at the facility between 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM.

”Till date, we have conducted RAT of around 10,000 passengers including visitors, laborers, commuters, and locals, among whom only 90 have tested positive ”, said an official.

The official further said that many passengers have managed to evade this route by taking several alternate link routes. This, he said, might put the lives of people at risk.

Added that all the passenger vehicles which arrive between 6 PM to 8 AM the next day, pass without getting tested at all, a health official said.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Dooru GR Wani, however, said that they make sure that the passengers don’t bypass the testing facility by taking alternative routes. ”We have already plugged one major route near the tunnel namely Imo-Verinag–Anantnag route, while another route, Lower-Munda-Zig, is being managed by traffic police.”

He said that nonetheless there are a few more link roads like Gulabagh which some passenger vehicles are using and the traffic police need to look after that.

A health official said that since the efficacy of RAT is minimum so many positive cases go unnoticed.

However, according to sources, some laborers who were tested Covid19 positive near Toll plaza Qazigund area of Kulgam district are reaching their destinations, skipping all the protocols of COVID-19 and jeopardizing the life of commoners.

Last week, the Advisor to Governor, Baseer Ahmad Khan Advisor to Lieutenant Governor inspected the COVID-19 screening kiosk at Qazigund toll plaza to take stock of arrangements put in place for detection of suspected cases. The advisor took stock of the functioning of the screening centre at the toll plaza and directed the concerned to ensure 100 percent screening of passengers and travellers to check the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Meanwhile, talking to Arising state Farhat Hussain Nodal Officer COVID-19 in District Anantnag said that they are quarantining those laborers who are symptomatic positive and letting go those laborers who are asymptomatic, there is no institutional isolation, asymptomatic covid19 positive cases have their home isolation, added that they are also quarantining those laborers who have accommodation problem.