Students at Srinagar airport protest against quarantine

Srinagar, March 19 (IANS) A few students arriving here from Bangladesh protested at Srinagar International Airport on Thursday when they were directed to quarantine facilities, sources said.

As per the directions of the District Magistrate Budgam, these students were to be quarantined as a precautionary measure against coronavirus (COVID-19).

Sources said the medical authorities at Srinagar International Airport requested these students to cooperate for the quarantine process to which they did not agree and started a protest, breaking window/glass panes of Srinagar International Airport arrival area.

The parents of these students also started a protest outside arrival terminal of the airport. Airport officials and CISF then were called by the local police. The police party along with a magistrate reached the spot and tried to pacify the protesters, but the protests continued.

The police on the directions of the Magistrate dispersed the protesters, cources added.

The police have taken cognizance of the incident.

The students were later sent for quarantine at pre-designated locations by the district administration.

Meanwhile, Two Kashmiri students returning from Bangladesh walked out of the airport on Thursday morning without undergoing the mandatory screening for the Covid-19 infection.

According to reports, two female MBBS students enrolled at Dhaka Medical College arrived with 30 other students at the Srinagar airport by an Indigo flight from Kolkata. All the students were kept at the arrival lounge with 250 other travellers who had flown in from different parts of the country.

–IANS

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