35 more Afghan evacuees released from ITBP quarantine centre in Delhi
Darpan News Desk IANS, 09 Sep, 2021 10:35 AM
New Delhi, Sep 9 (IANS) After completing 14 days of mandatory quarantine at the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) Centre, Chhawla Camp, 35 more evacuees from Afghanistan were allowed to leave the facility on Thursday.
The group comprises 24 Indians and 11 citizens from Nepal and they were also given the wellness certificate from the ITBP team.
With this, a total of 113 persons who were at the ITBP facility for institutional quarantine have been relieved so far.
These 35 persons arrived at ITBP quarantine facility from the IGI Airport, New Delhi on August 26 after they were airlifted from Afghanistan.
All of them tested negative for Covid-19 in the RT-PCR tests conducted by the ITBP facility during the quarantine period.
On Tuesday, 78 persons were released from this ITBP quarantine facility including 53 Afghan nationals.
ITBP spokesperson Vivek Pandey said that facilities such as food and lodging, entertainment, indoor games, wi-fi and canteen were provided to them free of cost.
Yoga and stress counselling sessions have also been organised at the centre, he added.
The ITBP quarantine facility at Chhawla Camp was set up in January 2020 when the Indians and foreign nationals were brought in from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus in China.
This was the first health facility set up by the ITBP with 1,000 beds in the country.
So far, this centre has quarantined more than 1,200 persons including 42 nationals from eight countries such as Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Maldives, US, South Africa, Madagascar, and Afghanistan, who were evacuated from various parts of the world from January to May 2020.
The Himalayan border guarding force is also credited for managing the world's largest makeshift quarantine centre at Radha Soami Satsang Acentre in Chhatarpur in South Delhi in June 2020.
This centre had over 10,000 beds and was operative during the first Covid-19 surge in Delhi.
It was re-opened during the second Covid 19 wave in February March this year initially with 500 beds and later 500 more beds were added.
India is in constant touch with the representatives of Afghan Sikh and Hindu communities, said the Ministry of External Affairs on Monday asserting that the country will facilitate repatriation to India of those who wish to leave Afghanistan.
Fearing attacks on the Indian community working with private companies in Afghanistan, the intelligence agencies have sent out alerts to them to be ready to be transported back to the country.
In the wake of the Taliban taking full control in Afghanistan, experts have cautioned the Indian security agencies to increase vigil on the international border with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir.
Fairly widespread to widespread rainfall activity is also very likely over Gangetic West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Vidarbha during the next five days.
Almost a year after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case in connection with the blast at a Kabul gurdwara in which 27 people, including an Indian Sikh was killed, a team of anti-terror probe agency was yet to visit the country, and now with the Taliban takeover, this has been "delayed indefinitely".
Rahul Gandhi on Friday released a video statement slamming Twitter for blocking his account and alleged that Twitter was taking sides in the politics of the country.
