Assam: 300 passengers at Silchar Airport ‘skip’ mandatory COVID tests
As many as 690 passengers had arrived on six flights at the airport on Wednesday.
GUWAHATI:
In a rather bizarre incident amid the spike in coronavirus cases, around 300 air passengers in Silchar “skipped” the mandatory COVID-19 tests arranged by the district health department.
As many as 690 passengers had arrived on six flights at the airport on Wednesday.
Arrangements were made for screening of the arriving passengers by transporting them from outside the airport on ASTC buses to the Mahatma Gandhi Model Hospital, Tikal (Salganga) where both Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) and RT-PCR tests were conducted by the district health department.
“Since it was the first day, around 300 passengers moved out of our system without testing and rather shouting at our personnel. We didn't anticipate so much indiscipline from flight passengers, but all of them are traceable as we have their contact details,” the additional deputy commissioner, Cachar said in a statement on Thursday.
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The official said that criminal action would be initiated against the passengers who have violated the guidelines put in place by the government amid escalating COVID positive cases in the state.
“We have their database and we will track them and initiate criminal action under Section 188 of the IPC and other relevant provisions,” he maintained.
Sources from AAI, Silchar Airport clarified on Thursday evening that the “incident was not reported at the airport and neither did any passengers escaped from security checks or from the designated area at passenger’s terminal building.”
“However, the matter was related to the screening of the arriving passengers by transporting them from outside the airport, through ASTC buses to the Mahatma Gandhi Model Hospital, Tikal (Salganga),” they said.
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