Locals Demand to Lift Seal down in Bantwal
Bantwal: After a 50-year-old woman from Bantwal died of COVID-19, on April 19, the district administration sealed down the area in Bantwal. Since then, the COVID-19 positive cases in the Bantwal area have increased, and the death toll has risen to three.
As a precautionary measure, the seal down continued, but even after one month, the district administration has not informed the locals about lifting the seal down.
On May 21, locals gathered near the seal down area to question the concerned authorities about lifting the seal down in Bantwal as there are nearly 90 shops and 450 families residing in the area. After the lockdown, the shops have been closed and now, from past one month due to Seal down no shops are allowed to open. Now the residents of the area are facing a lot of problems. They are eager to know the date of lifting the seal down.
Speaking to mangalorean.com, one of the residents said, “In our locality, there are 85 to 90 shops and nearly 450 houses. A few of the people have passes to provide essential supplies to the families in the area. But the question now is, when is the seal down going to be lifted? We don’t have any clarity about it, political leaders are playing the blame game, and we the residents are suffering. Today when we gathered near the sealed down area, the SI of Bantwal, Avinash reached the spot and did not allow the police to enter in the containment zone.”
He further said, “Local leader Govind Prabhu, former minister Ramanath Rai and the Tahsildar also visited the spot. But theirs was a casual visit without any positive response from them. After the COVID-19 positive cases, we have been isolated for more than a month. The District administration should look into this and fix a date to lift the seal down in Bantwal area”.
Assistant Commissioner Madan Mohan visited the spot and assured of taking necessary measures by May 22 evening. He also said that the district officers had held a high-level meeting regarding lifting the seal down in Bantwal.
Officials are now waiting for the orders to lift the seal down in the area.