International passengers returning to Hyd defy govt rules

Hyderabad: Passengers returning from foreign trips are ignoring the guidelines laid down by the government for keeping themselves at home in isolation for a week or two.

Some passengers have registered wrong residential addresses at the airport and some are absconding. This is creating hardships for the police and also for Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) to trace them to determine their health status.

A man who arrived at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGI) from Doha travelled to Andhra Pradesh without informing the health department authorities. He was supposed to keep himself in home isolation at Hyderabad.

In another incident, a woman who returned from Singapore on March 13 is missing.  A third passenger is not found on the given address. He might have shifted his residence and is not traceable.

In another incident on March 14 a young woman arrived at RGIA. Instead of going to her home in Chandanagar she went to DD colony. Her location was traced by the civic authorities through a phone call.

The passengers returning from other countries are dodging the health officials and police. They are not only making their task difficult but also jeopardizing the life of fellow citizens and loved ones back home.

The GHMC has yet to track 3,000 international passengers who arrived at Hyderabad by direct international flights at RGI or entered Hyderabad from Mumbai or elsewhere by train or other means of road transportation since March 1.