A month after they were sent to a makeshift railway COVID-19 quarantine centre in southeast Delhi, people who attended a Tablighi Jamaat event in Nizamuddin have finally struck a rapport with the staff, officials said.
Earlier there were complaints of misbehaviour by the inmates, but there is some understanding now between them and the staff at the quarantine centre, which is under constant CCTV camera surveillance and guarded by Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, they said.
Initially they were averse to the idea of being quarantined. Over the days, they are now communicating with us and we have struck a rapport, Dr A N Jha, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner, RPF, told PTI.
They know we will not provide them certain things and we have tried to meet some of their demands. However, they are centrally monitored through CCTV cameras and there are RPF personnel in plainclothes around, so the security is tight," he said.
On March 31, 167 attendees of a religious congregation held at the Tablighi Jamaat's headquarters at Nizamuddin were brought to the railway facility in Tughlakabad from the event's venue that has been declared a novel coronavirus hotspot.
Soon after, there were reports of misbehaviour by the inmates, which had forced the railways to lodge a complaint with the district administration.
While 70 of the event's attendees were kept at the RPF Barrack Quarantine Centre, 97 are at the Diesel Shed Training School Hostel Quarantine Centre.
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At the RPF centre, a 150-bed barrack was converted into a two-storey facility with around 17 rooms. It is run by the force's personnel.
There are currently 42 men who attended the Nizamuddin event; the others, who tested positive, have been sent to isolation centres run by hospitals.
Officials said that before opening the barrack, it was converted into a quarantine centre as per specified standards. It has multi-layered security round-the-clock and sixteen IP-based CCTV cameras have been installed to provide feed to a control room for 24X7 monitoring, they said.
Upon their arrival, they were given an 18-item starter kit, including basic toiletries, hygiene products and mosquito repellents.
"Nominated officers have been in regular touch with the residents to take feedback and deal with complaints, if any. A 24X7 phone number of the control room has been provided to the residents to report any case of emergency, Jha said.
Harish Papola, Security Commissioner-II, Delhi Division, said, "We have set up a good communication system with them. They respond to our roll calls and all our protocols, and we have also agreed to some of their demands.
He said most of those at the centre are from Assam, Odisha and Haryana.
While some of their demands, such as those for cigarettes and meat, have been denied for health reasons, others like paneer bhurji twice a week, curd, buttered-chapatis instead of plain ones, more rice per plate has been provided.
For breakfast, they have two different menus and snacks, twice a day.
During Ramzan, the attendees are being provided fruits like apples and dates along with bottles of mineral water three times a day.
"The only thing we have requested them is not to hold prayers in a group. They pray sitting on their beds and individually. We keep track over them on the control system and if they are found in groups, we make announcements alerting them of the need for distancing. So far, it has worked out well," Jha said.
After the Nizamuddin event, several attendees tested positive for coronavirus, which according to the health ministry led to severe spike in cases of the disease in several parts of the country.
Recently, the Tablighi Jamaat appealed to those members who got cured to donate their plasma for treatment of other coronavirus-infected patients, a move that the outfit thinks will help it shed its villain' tag.