Kumar Rajiv Nayan
Ara : Sealing of Buxar-Bhojpur border notwithstanding, 22 daily wage earners from Sultahpur in Uttar Pradesh reached Ara, headquarters of Bhojpur district, via Buxar district on April 17, 2020, morning.
Buxar district administration had sealed Uttar Pradesh – Buxar border and on April 15, 2020, Bhojpur SP Sushil Kumar sealed Buxar – Bhojpur border at Kudeshwarsthan under Shahpur police station after two cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) positive were detected at New Bhojpur under Dumraon police station in Buxar district two days ago. Bhojpur police had quarantined all the 22 daily wage earners at H D Jain College Quarantine Centre, Ara.
Despite sealing of Uttar Pradesh-Buxar and Buxar-Bhojpur borders completely, 22 daily wage earners from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh reached Ara via Buxar district on bicycles on April 17 morning. At Ara, some social workers stopped them at Chandawa under Nawada police station, Ara, and served breakfast and food.
A social worker Anjani Kumar Tiwari said that the daily wage earners were on way to Malda Town in West Bengal from Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh. They entered Buxar even as the border was sealed and reached Ara in Bhojpur district. He said that on suspicion, he detained all of them and queried. The daily wage earners revealed that they were in Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh for 14 days during first round of lockdown and somehow spent their time but now they had neither money nor any means of provisions to keep their soul and body together and so they left Sultanpur for Malda Town in West Bengal. They also revealed that police intercepted them at Buxar and also at Kudeshwarsthan in Bhojpur but allowed them to proceed further after query.
Anjani Kumar Tiwari said that he informed Bhojpur SP and Nawada police station but Bhojpur DM Roushan Kushwaha and Ara SDO Arun Prakash did not receive the call. Nawada police station firstly told him to let them go. When he contacted, Bihar DGP Gupteshwar Pandey and informed him about about the incident, the SHO Nawada police station along with police force and ambulance reached the spot where 22 daily wage earners were detained and took them to the quarantine centre at H D Jain College after getting them medically examined at Ara Sadar Hospital. The incident speaks volume of the working of Bihar police as 22 persons crossed sealed borders to reach Ara.
SHO, Nawada police station, Sanjeev Kumar, said that all the daily wage earners, who were detained at Chandawa, were examined at Ara Sadar Hospital and quarantined at H D Jain Colleg,e Ara.