Nineteen passengers, who reached Bengaluru from Delhi via a special train on Thursday, were sent back to the Capital after they refused to be placed under quarantine, ANI reported on Friday.
The first special train carrying over 550 passengers from Delhi had arrived at the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station in Bengaluru on Thursday morning, according to The Hindu. Hours after the mandatory screening for the coronavirus began, around 140 passengers started to protest and refused to check-in to designated quarantine facilities. Eventually, all passengers, except the 19, agreed to follow the protocol after officials intervened.
“About 140 passengers were reluctant for institutionalised quarantine,” the Indian Railways said in a statement, according to ANI. “After persuasion and discussion by senior officers of the state government, the police and Railways, majority of them have proceeded to the said quarantine.”
The Railways added that the 19 passengers who refused quarantine were asked to be sent back to Delhi. “We talked to them [the passengers for several hours and finally they requested to be sent back from where they came,” D Roopa, a senior officer of the Railways Police, told NDTV. “Finally, the general manager of South Western Railway intervened, and an extra bogey has been attached now to the Rajdhani Express leaving in the evening. The passengers have agreed to pay for the journey.”
A 14-day quarantine period is mandatory for people entering Karnataka. Delhi, meanwhile, is allowing asymptomatic passengers to go home after screening.
The Indian Railways restarted its passenger services on Tuesday, after nearly 50 days since the imposition of the nationwide lockdown. Fifteen pairs of special trains connecting New Delhi with other cities in India have been allowed to run. The government had said that passengers would have to wear face masks, and will be screened for coronavirus symptoms. Only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to board the trains.
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