In a latest development to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in India, parts of southeast Nizamuddin West have been put under a stringent lockdown after 24 people from there tested positive for COVID-19.
The attention on the Nizamuddin area has come about because it recently hosted a religious congregation where people from various states across the country such as Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman Islands, Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh came.
All these people are said to have attended the conferee at the Nizamuddin mosque somewhere around the middle of March. Moreover, it is being reported that even as the 21 day lockdown was imposed, around 1,000 people continued to stay at the Tablighi Jamaat Markaj.
The Delhi government has accused the organising body of gross negligence and said that it could consider having an FIR filed against the Maulana of the mosque. In a press note issued by the organisers, it was said that the ongoing program was discontinued when PM Modi gave the call for “Janta Curfew” but since railway services were suspended soon after, it had no option but accommodate the stranded guests. Also since most of the guests had come from outside Delhi via trains, it became almost impossible for many of them to leave Delhi in the given circumstances.
According to the organisers, in the absence of railway services and adequate road transportation mechanisms, with the help of the Markaz administration, around 1,500 people were made to leave Delhi by availing any kind of transport that was available. The lockdown was further increased to three weeks on March 23.
On 24th March, suddenly a notice was issued by the SHO of the area urging that the premises be immediately vacated.
The organisers responded by saying that the evacuation process was underway and a large part of the gathering had been sent from Delhi but due to the absence of transportation mechanisms, another 1000 visitors belonging to different states and nationalities were staying at Markaz.
It also said that it had arranged for 17 vehicles to transport these guests outside Delhi but the required permission was not given.
The Delhi government alleges that medical protocols and the call for quarantine were not implemented during the conference at the Markaz. The event is also being linked to cases in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andaman Islands, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.
People from these states are said to have become a part of the religious congregation held at the Nizamuddin mosque in Mid-March.
