Fear and stigma forced an Odisha man to spend five days in his car parked outside the Temporary Medical Centre (TMC) at Basudevpur in Ganjam district.
According to reports, Madhab Patra (25) was prevented from staying at his home in Dolaba despite having already spent 14 days in quarantine in Berhampur and testing negative for COVID-19.
Patra, a videographer, owns a digital printing unit in Berhampur. He had travelled to Bihar on March 15 but got stuck there for nearly one-and-a-half-months due to the lockdown. He returned to Berhampur on May 9 and informed authorities about his travel history.
The administration allowed Patra for home quarantine in Berhampur since he showed no symptoms for coronavirus. After completing his stipulated 14-day quarantine period, he left for his hometown of Dolaba in his car since Berhampur was under the the threat of cyclone Amphan.
However, the villagers and neighbours protested against Patra staying at his home and asked him to move to a nearby quarantine centre. Patra accepted the villagers’ dictate but decided to stay in his car parked on the premises of the quarantine centre since he feared the risk of contracting the infection from the centre where many migrant workers are housed.
“I informed the matter to the local authorities but to no avail. Since there is a risk of contracting the infection in institutional quarantine where many migrant workers are housed, I decided to stay in my car. I hope the administration intervenes and saves me from this predicament,” he told the New Indian Express.
According to the report, Patra eats and sleeps inside the car and only comes out to use the toilet.
