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Panjim: Alleged mismanagement at Dabolim international airport led to chaos with Goan passengers alleging step-motherly treatment by every official they approached for help.
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Soon after over 100 passengers, majority Goans, landed at Dabolim airport from Dubai, the scene turned chaotic with confusion all around. The situation was such that no social distancing was observed. Herald spoke to a few distressed returnees who narrated their ordeal, starting from the airport to their three-and-a-half-hour-long bus travel and the hotel they are quarantined at.
“The step-motherly treatment began soon after we landed at the airport. There was total chaos at the immigration where we had to hand over our passports for stamping. While we were asked to keep the passports on one chair one by one, the immigration team would throw it asking us to pick it up (after completing the process). As a result, our passports got mixed with each other. We had to arrange it ourselves later,” one of them told Herald.
A polite request to the immigration to properly handle the situation did not fetch a positive outcome. Instead, the woman passenger said, they were given vague reasons.
“We were treated like untouchables. When I requested the immigration to streamline the process, he just said that ‘something terrible has happened today.’ What is that terrible thing and why are we victims of it? There was no social distancing and utter chaos,” the passenger, who is expecting her second child, said.
On repeated request by the passengers, she claimed, the health officials collected their swab samples and reports are expected in 2-3 days.
Their woes did not end here. There was a commotion for the bus travel as well. While the officials blamed these passengers for the delay in boarding the KTC bus, the passengers put the onus on the immigration and the airport staff. They also argued on why they are charged 500 per head for travel between Dabolim airport and the quarantine centre.
“The three counters at the airport where fees of Rs 2,000 and bus fare were collected were also not managed properly. We are charged a whopping amount and still face hardship,” another passenger said.
Out of the total passengers, some from the neighbouring States were allowed to exit after obtaining travel permits. Among those Goans, at least a dozen were pregnant ladies. The women demand from the government as to why pregnant women, mother-child and physically injured persons are asked to undergo facility quarantine when the rule allows home quarantine.
The pregnant women also complained that they were not given any help in terms of picking the luggage. “No trolley was given to us. We were asked to manage on our own. No official helped us carry our bags,” one of them said.
Another woman, who lost her job in Dubai forcing her return to Goa, said she has no money to pay for the quarantine centre. “Today is my first day. I am sharing with another passenger. But I am not in a position to pay for the quarantine. I returned because I lost my livelihood there. So how can I make the payment here,” she questioned.
No social distancing in the bus too was a concern while travel time of three and half hours from Dabolim to their quarantine centre in Panjim also angered most of them. One passenger is said to have fallen ill owing to no food or liquid. He was taken to the hospital via an ambulance. “Some of us were also feeling dizzy because we did not have food or water. Nobody offered us water,” a five-month pregnant Dubai returnee said.
Herald tried to speak to Airport Director Gagan Malik but he did not reply.
