The first batch of 57 Iran-returned pilgrims reached here onTuesday in a special Indian Air Force (IAF) flight after undergoing quarantinein Uttar Pradesh, officials said.
However, they would not be going home just now as they haveto undergo another phase of 14-day administrative quarantine for their own andothers’ safety, they said.
The UT administration is happy to announce the homecoming ofthe first batch of 57 Iran returnees to Kargil post quarantine, tweeted theoffice of the Ladakh Divisional Commissioner and Secretary Saugat Biswas.
The flight carrying the pilgrims from Hindon Air ForceStation in Ghaziabad (UP) landed at Kargil at 11:15 am and the administrationis actively pursuing the return of the next batch on Wednesday, the tweetadded.
When contacted, Kargil District Development CommissionerBaseer Ul Haq Choudhary said they were among over 550 pilgrims hailing fromKargil who were evacuated from Iran in the last week of March in the wake ofCOVID-19 pandemic.
The others are under quarantine in different parts of thecountry, he said.
There were over 850 pilgrims from Kargil who had gone forpilgrimage to Iran. About 300 are still in Iran, he told PTI.
He said the 57 pilgrims have completed their quarantineperiod in Ghaziabad and their arrival in Ladakh.
However, before they are allowed to go home, the pilgrimswould undergo an institutional quarantine as a precautionary measure for theirown welfare, and the safety of others, he said.
They have come from high temperature areas, whereas themaximum temperature in Kargil is still very low. The difference in the temperature(between Ghaziabad and Kargil) might cause some health issues among thepilgrims. Therefore, to monitor them, it was decided that they will undergoanother quarantine, he said.
On April 17, the UT administration had decided thatreturning pilgrims would be sent to institutional quarantine for proper andstrict medical surveillance in consonance with the protocols of the WorldHealth Organisation and those of the Union Ministry of Health.
The Kargil administration has already designatedinstitutional quarantine facilities at 22 locations with more than 1100 beds,the officials said.
They said the opening of the 434-km Srinagar-Leh NationalHighway and operation of flights after lockdown would throw new challenges inthe fight against coronavirus.
The need of the hour is to maintain extra vigilance andstrict observance of protocols at all levels to contain the spread of thedeadly virus in the district, he said.