Intensified screening & checking at Sikkim entry points

Sikkim gates close for tourists, unverified workers

Hundreds of tourists return back from Rangpo

PANKAJ DHUNGEL

RANGPO: An intensified health screening and documents of arrivals at Rangpo border checkpost commenced from Tuesday morning following the State government’s decision to bar domestic tourists and outside workers from entering Sikkim in wake of coronavirus alarm.

Hundreds of tourists and workers who could not establish their credentials were not allowed to step into Sikkim through Rangpo by the Health and Police personnel. Those who could produce identity cards authenticating that they are from Sikkim or working in Sikkim were granted passage after screening of their body temperature.

Being the first day of entry restriction, there was considerable confusion in certain cases as to decide whether a person visiting Sikkim was for a professional reason or a personal tourism trip. Also, workers of many industrial units in Sikkim were stranded because they were unable to produce proper identity documents.

The worst hit was tourists who were caught unawares by the entry restriction decision and had to return back. Several of them had been misguided by the taxi operators at Siliguri end with the taxis abandoning them at Rangpo having taken fare for Gangtok.

A West Bengal police officer informed that taxi drivers were found dropping the tourists at Rangpo despite taking extra money for Gangtok. We are making sure that the tourists are again dropped to Siliguri by these taxis as many of them are stranded here at Rangpo, he said.

Traffic congestion was another by-product of the screening and document checking with commuters having to wait for hours before they reached the checkpost.

“We have screened almost 2500 around 1 pm today but the figures of screening are bound to rise way beyond 10,000 by night time. We are doing all we can but as a health official I would recommend more work force be deputed here at Rangpo border,” said a Health official.

Lack of adequate protocols for granting or denying entry was also evident since only thermal screening and identification as Sikkimese or genuinely working in the State are presently being considered.

“That's the only compliance we have received and if a person has an identity to prove himself as Sikkimese or working in Sikkim then that works for us. We are putting a curtain upon the workers and labourers working in different pharmaceutical companies and others. They are unable to produce documents from their companies curtailing us their entry,” said a Health official at Rangpo.

A quarantine centre is being set up at a Tourist Information Centre at Rangpo which was handed over by the State Tourism department. However, the proposed quarantine centre is located close to local residential area.