Stir against quarantine centre in S’mogga, facility ransacked

Tension prevailed for a while when police resorted to lathi charge to disperse irate residents of Bapujinagar in the city, who damaged chairs tables and surveillance cameras installed in a possible quarantine centre on Wednesday evening.

A group of residents of the area led by Deputy Mayor Surekha Muralidhar staged a flash protest in the area, opposing the district administration's plan to use B Krishnappa Hostel as a quarantine facility. It had been decided to keep people who had come from other states, including those from Mumbai, under institutional quarantine in the hostel.

The residents stopped the police when they were making necessary arrangements at the hostel. Surekha argued with the police, saying that the area already had two quarantine centres.

So, it was not fair to have another quarantine centre here, as people were scared that they might contract Covid-19, she said. Heated arguments broke out between the police and the residents. Security has been beefed up in the area to prevent the situation from going out of control.