BANKE: One of the least developed local level of Banke, Narainapur Rural Municipality has grown into a coronavirus hub these days as one in six each cases turn is from this village.

This rural municipality of 35,000 population and 172 Square kilometer area has 114 out of 675 cases in the country. This is 17 percent of the total cases in the country.

“Due to provocation from some selfish people, the attempt to take the corona infected people to Nepalgunj isolation was obstructed first,” Istiyak Ahmad Shah, the Mayor of the Rural Municipality said sadly, then the outbreak got worse.

Mayor Shah has written to the federal government for help fearing the situation could further aggravate.

Unmanaged quarantine

There are 750 people in different quarantines established in this rural municipality. Out of 13 quarantines in this place 11 have no electricity.

The returnees from India who traveled for many days to reach this home village seem unwilling to stay at the quarantine as there are no fans or other basic facilities in the centers. Some of them are found running away from the quarantine exposing their family and community to further risk.

What’s more, a youth of 25 in the Bhagawanpur quarantine of Narainapur-5 died and was later said to have been corona patient.

Another factor, is the poor health facility in the quarantine. How can the people who find their next-door neighbor dying not getting medicine to feel safe in such quarantines? After the death of the youth those who could walk left the shelter, others called their narratives and went back home deserting the quarantine.

Similarly, the congestion at the center is another factor making people unsafe in the shelters built for their ‘safety.’

“Poor facilities are not our choices, people blame us for it and run away,” spoke Mayor Shah remorsefully, “Around 50/60 people are kept in a poorly equipped shelter, we could not manage timely health check-up as well.”

Such factors drive people back from the quarantine.

The administration is worried about the prospective transmission in the community.

“The runaways can further risk their community,” Dirgha Raj Upadhyaya, the Assistant Chief District Officer said.

Open border, uncontrolled returnees exacerbating the situation

Narainapur is bordered with India. Lack of formal border points has made the village a place with a spongy border.

“Open border and uncontrolled arrival of the people has made everything difficult here.” Krishna KC, the lawmaker in the Province Assembly spoke about the challenges in curbing the issue. “These days, too, the inflow is still challenging.”

As many of them have come from Maharashtra and Delhi, the corona hotspots of India and enter through the spongy borders; the authority can’t offer the exact number of returnees; it can merely speculate the horrible outbreaks.