Migrant workers who came back from Gujarat’s Surat skipped quarantine in Kodala block in Odisha’s Ganjam district on Sunday morning.
In a first of its kind incident in Odisha, a large number of migrant workers left the quarantine centres at the Janata High School of Beguniapada and the Odisha Adarsh Vidyalaya at Ragapur in Kodala block.
A group of migrant workers, who had arrived by seven buses from Surat on Saturday night, were kept under quarantine at these two centres. The Janata High School had over 140 workers, while the Ragapur centre had 195.
According to sources, alleging lack of proper amenities, a large number of these workers left the two centres.
On receiving information, police and administrative officials rushed to the spot. Till noon, several of them were traced. Some of them were found at the Kanchana square and 40 were located inside a large orchard in the area. The tehsildar and Block Development Officer along with police officials are trying to urge the workers to come back to the quarantine centres.
Large numbers of migrant workers are now returning to Ganjam district from other States, especially from Surat in Gujarat, by buses and special trains. For the first time, two COVID-19 cases were detected in Ganjam district on Sunday morning.
