Short on cash, flyers resist paid quarantine in Bengaluru

BENGALURU: About 70 passengers, who arrived at Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) on Tuesday and Wednesday, cited money problems and refused to proceed towards paid institutional quarantine.


As police at the airport intervened, making it clear that the quarantine requirement cannot be sidestepped, many called up their friends and relatives to arrange money for the stay. The lowest tariff for hotel quarantine fixed by state the government is Rs 1,200 per day.

Passengers from Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat — the states with a high number of coronavirus infections — must mandatorily go for institutional quarantine of at least seven days. One can either pay for accommodation at a hotel, lodge or service apartment, or choose free stay at hostels and other facilities identified by the government. Most hostels have reportedly run out of rooms.

“While 50 passengers were provided free accommodation, the rest were told to make arrangements for money. Many sought help from their relatives and friends. Free quarantine facilities are all overbooked, so we were not able to accommodate everybody there,” said a senior police officer.

Jitendra, whose family lives in JP Nagar, landed in the city from Jaipur on Tuesday. “Upon arrival, officials told us that we would have to go into institutional quarantine. We were not informed about this when we boarded the flight for Bengaluru,” he said. “When we refused, we were made to wait at Bengaluru airport for over two hours. They told us if we don’t want to be quarantined, we should go back to Jaipur. Finally, we agreed for the cheapest accommodation.”

But the passengers’ troubles didn’t end there. “They took us to an apartment in Kodihalli, where locals objected to our arrival. Around 8pm, when it was pouring, we were shifted to a lodge in

Marathahalli

,” Jitendra said. “The facilities at are abysmal and we got dinner only at 11pm.”

A passenger who flew in from Delhi also complained about the arrangements. “I had to borrow money from my relatives for the institutional quarantine. But the facilities are subpar. We are being given meagre meals like one dosa for breakfast. There was no electricity on Tuesday night and there is nobody to take note of our concerns,” the passenger said.