Delhi and Punjab authorities on Wednesday evacuated over 200 people, mostly Sikhs, who were stranded at a gurdwara in the capital region’s Majnu Ka Tilla area during lockdown.
They will be quarantined in a Nehru Vihar school.
The 205 people who were stranded at the gurdwara are said to include Pakistan nationals.
The operation was conducted close on the heels of the discovery of a cluster of coronavirus cases linked to a religious congregation at a Nizamuddin markaz.
The markaz’s cleric has been booked for violating government orders.
‘AMARINDER DIDN’T ACT SWIFTLY’
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC), blamed Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for not swiftly rescued the stranded individuals. He said he had to seek the help of the Delhi and central governments.
All but three families at the gurdwara are Indian and mostly from Punjab, and the rest are from Pakistan, he said.
They were stranded due to the lockdown and not due to a religious congregation, he said.
PANDEMIC
Delhi is currently reporting over 120 coronavirus cases, including six people who have recovered and two dead, according to an India Today tracker.
The coronavirus, a previously unknown variety called Sars-Cov-2, causes a potentially fatal respiratory illness called Covid-19. Most people who are infected recover without special treatment, but one in six falls seriously ill, with the elderly and people with pre-existing medical conditions are more at risk.
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