Mandatory Covid testing at Dholeshwar, Karimganj – Silchar passengers irked; “Measures for long-term benefit,” DC

There is a COVID testing centre installed at Dholeshwar point which is the gateway to enter Cachar district from other districts. Anyone on board a public transport is being tested for COVID 19. While the centre was installed a few days back, the officials have intensified the testing only recently.

Passengers travelling from Karimganj to Silchar are also being tested without any exception and that has irked them. They question the procedure as the district they are travelling to and from do not have such a mandatory testing mechanism. Dholeshwar is under the jurisdiction of Hailakandi and the testing centre has been set up by the Hailkandi District Administration.

“If Cachar district administration has no mandatory testing centre at the ISBT, ASTC Bus Stand, why is Hailakandi testing us. We are not even entering the Hailakandi district. We are travelling from Karimganj to Silchar and it is bizarre that the Hailakandi Health Department is testing us for COVID. The process is increasing the travel time by at least an hour which is working as a huge obstacle for the people travelling on public transport,” said a senior citizen who travelled from Karimganj to Silchar on December 23, to meet a patient. Her relative has been referred to Chennai and before they leave, she wanted to meet them.

“I just regretted my decision to travel. Check if the passengers are masked, if the busses are following the SOP or plying with passengers standing. Nobody is bothered to check all these essential mandated by the government of Assam as the busses are crowded with standing passengers, but they are just suspiciously testing us,” added the lady.

The administration is aware about the inconvenience faced, but it is for the larger benefit of the mass, here is what Rohan Jha, deputy commissioner of Hailakandi has to say, “This is not anything new, citizens no doubt face issues, but this is a type of collateral damage, done only for their long term benefit.” Explaining the administration’s decision to install a mandatory Covid testing gate at Dholeshwar, he says, “This is being done due to the increase in cases relating to the omicron variant.”

Omicron is already been declared as a variant of concern by WHO. First spotted in South Africa and Botswana at the end of November, omicron is already poised to soon become the dominant variant — dethroning delta — in some regions, public health officials warn. As reported by Science News, in a few places, it already has.

Scientists are worried as the surge of Omicron cases collide with the Holidays, it might result in a storm that is tough to weather. Christmas and New Year break is when international tourists especially those from European countries fly to various parts of India in search of a bright sunny escape.

According to the medical bulletin issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India this morning, the country has reported 415 Omicron cases so far. Out of them, 115 have either recovered or migrated. Of the 300 remaining Omicron cases, Maharashtra leads the tally, followed by Delhi, Gujarat…

As far as the testing centre at Dholeshwar is concerned, there is no specific State or Central Government SOP regarding the same. However, the district administrations have all the rights to identify the vulnerable points and install a mandatory COVID testing centre, which is what the Hailakandi District administration has done.

At this testing centre, the officials from Hailakandi District Health Department test as many as they can. “We try to cover as many cases as we can, because more the testing, more positive cases come. This helps us tremendously as they are isolated then and there otherwise if they go to their neighbourhood it will be a disaster,” asserts Rohan Jha, deputy commissioner of Hailakandi.

“It is better to be safe than sorry,” is what Jha says to explain the decision further. There are enough insights already available in the public domain that hint if guards are lowered, it will call for a disaster. With that in the backdrop, a cautious measure is always a welcome step. Also, it is worth mentioning here that Rapid Antigen Test kits that are being used at the Dholeshwar Centre cannot detect the variant. Only the COVID positive patients are identified and then their samples are sent to labs in Lahowal or Kalyani, West Bengal for genome sequencing.

The Hailakandi district administration is clear in its decision as to why the centre has been installed. However, the passengers are least convinced. This explains the complications that COVID presents and why it not just a medical one.