Managing reverse-migration of 30,000 to cremating COVID victims; A look into Cachar Admin's roller-coaster ride

Like author and investment banker Ruchir Sharma says, India has always been a “Democracy On The Road.” From paddy fields to kitchens in five-star hotels to the CEOs cabin in business hubs across the country there are migrants who have temporarily moved from their native places. The domestic migration is a year old trend, but in 2020 it was time for reverse migration.

End of March this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had drawn a ‘Sacrosanct Line’ – Lakshman Rekha out of every door in India. He urged the countrymates to not cross the Lakshman Rekha for whatever the reason might be. Evoking the sentiments of Mahabharata, he said, it’s a war against Coronavirus. The war in the epic continued for 18-days, here it is still going on. The war with the coronavirus-led pandemic.

Within weeks of his announcement, which economists around the world deemed to be the “strictest lockdown,” thousands were on the roads. They had run out of work and wanted to return back to where they belonged. Many had work but wanted to be with their family during distress. Government of Assam started an online registration campaign through ‘Assam Cares’ to make an estimate of the people coming back to respective districts. Close to 35,000 applicants from Cachar filled in the form stating they want to return home.

Back then, it was mandatory to put every incoming passenger in a Quarantine Centre. Where do you put 35,000 people in Cachar? “Initially it was 23,000 applications,” says J R Lalsim, District Development Commissioner. “With that figure in mind, we started identifying government and private establishments,” she adds.

The Cachar District Administration under erstwhile DC Barnali Sharma started using NATRiP as a quarantine centre. Later government colleges, hotels and wedding halls were also leased. While it was one bus from Ajmer, Rajasthan that made all the news, so far, 18,300 by road and railways and 11,500 by airways, a total of 29,800 passengers have returned to Cachar.

“Our first focus was to build a safe environment to ensure safe reception, screening and swab collections, then work out a proper shelter,” adds Lalsim. It wasn’t easy. For the people, back in May, coronavirus was a timebomb waiting to explodẹ and inmates in quarantine centres – suicide bombers. “No janitors were willing to walk into the centres to sweep floors or clean toilets. We went to honourable Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma with the problem. He suggested us to recruit janitors at Rs 1000 per day, even then we found it difficult to get people,” informs Lalsim.

The taboo, which still exists, was at least 10 times higher in the early days of Coronavirus. The district administration had to distribute resources leaving some chores unattended. This created a nuisance in quarantine centres, people had to face discomfort. Dirty toilets, messy rooms and uncleaned floors started popping up on social media in the form of images and videos. The administration was under criticism, “If you want the comfort of your home in a quarantine centre, I am sorry, we cannot provide that. However, with pride, I say, that Cachar administration has managed its quarantine centres well. Most people were happy with the services,” asserted Lalsim.

Till August 1, 2020, Cachar district administration had placed 15,059 people under facility quarantine and 11,563 people were allowed to stay in home isolation. “First we arranged water so that there is no crisis. Then we roped in caterers on board to provide foods. We had to ensure there is an adequate number of washrooms available. Few hoteliers first denied but later they themselves wish to come on-board. This way they could earn some money and cover their expenses,” shares Lalsim.

ADC Sumit Sattavan who was also involved in managing the migration on the ground had once said that the inmates create ruckus inside quarantine centres. One of them even threatened that he would spit on the workers deployed for cleaning. Sattavan had said that a lot of the mess was a man-made nuisance, which could have been easily avoided.

“We will need cooperation from the public. I must also admit that people of Silchar has cooperated throughout. But the bad days are yet to come, the number will swell further and that is when we will need to fight unitedly. The government is not giving up and it is doing all it can to combat the pandemic. The administration is working round the clock and together, we can see this pass without inflicting much damage,” opines Lalsim.

The quarantine days are over, NIT and Assam University Hostels which were used as centres to air passengers have now been converted as COVID Care Centres to treat asymptomatic positive patients. “We are aiming to have 6000 beds ready by the end of August,” says Lalsim. “We feel at one stage we might have that many concurrent active cases,” she assesses.

As far as migration goes, the administration believes it has passed its peak. “There is not much rush in road and railways and about 300 to 400 passengers are flying in every day, which we think will continue. We have started rapid antigen tests at the airport, so the passengers who are testing negative are allowed to go home,” said Lalsim.

The challenge now for the administration is burial and cremation of COVID Victim. The MoS Health, Government of Assam, Pijush Hazarika, yesterday said that 36 COVID deaths took place in Silchar Medical College and Hospital. However, that is the number of COVID deaths declared by the death audit board. There are many more who died with COVID infection in the body but the primary cause of death was deemed to be something else. However, the protocols for the disposal of such dead bodies are the same as that of COVID deaths.

“We wanted to have a dedicated burial and cremation centre in every circle of the district, but the locals aren’t allowing us to do so. The MLA of Lakhipur convinced the people to let cremation take place in one particular site, where we did cremate a couple of unfortunate victims but then people sat on the road and started protesting. In fact, one of our circle officer’s car even got vandalised,” informs Lalsim.

There is no electric furnace available in any of the crematoriums in Cachar which is making cremation a lengthy process. Adding to the woes is the resistance. Along with it, logistics is also a hurdle, “We are indebted to the Rotary Club for allowing us their mortuary vans. We knocked hundreds of doors yet no owner agreed to rent their vehicles for the transfer of dead bodies. We don’t have people willing to drive those vans, because they fear they might be attacked. So, today, cremation is the biggest challenge for us because, irrespective of what you are willing to spend, you are not getting resources,” asserts Lalsim.

Yes, it’s true that the administration has been under immense criticism and a lot of it were constructive. The fact to ponder upon is the role of society. Why are people attacking circle officers when they are trying to conduct a burial or cremation? Shouldn’t people’s representatives, intellectuals, play a larger role? When it is scientifically proven and accepted that cremation or burial of bodies does not spread the infection, why is the resistance? While people of Silchar has been proactive in criticising, it’s time to ponder upon the role played and support the administration in this war.