After returning to his village in Assam, 21-year-old Amosh Basumatary, is spending 14 days on a bamboo tree house despite testing negative. Heavy rains have taken a toll on the house’s plastic sheet. Amosh is unable to get decent meals.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) – Amosh Basumatary, 21, from Sonitpur (Assam), was forced into quarantine on a tree house by fellow villagers after he returned home from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on 26 May, for fear of the coronavirus.
Basumatary worked in a car seat manufacturing plant that reportedly shut down due to losses caused by the lockdown that left employees with the option of returning to their home states.
Basumatary said he already spent three nights at a quarantine facility in Dekhiajuli, a city in Sonitpur district. He was released after he tested negative for COVID-19, but as soon as he got home, villagers insisted he spend at least 14 days in isolation in a tree house.
According to reports, Ansaipur residents built the bamboo tree house on the outskirts of the village, which is close to the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. They insisted that Amosh spend another 14 days in solitary confinement as a precautionary measure, even though he spent three nights under institutional quarantine.
"I've completed four nights in the treehouse and have to spend ten more. Though this is not as comfortable as home, I am willing to spend the next ten days for the safety of other villagers," Basumatary said.
Recently, the state was hit by flash floods and heavy rains, which also affected Basumatary’s quarantine in the tree house with heavy downpour taking its toll on the house’s plastic sheet.
For the quarantined man, the discomfort is compounded by the lack of decent meals. Although he has been provided with 20 kg of rice, he would like to have some pulses and spices for his meals. His family is helping him with supplies.
“I'm not aware of this specific case,” said Kamaljyoti Borah, circle officer in Dhekiajuli. “But we know of cases in villages in the area where residents have constructed huts for returnees to undergo home quarantine” to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“Villagers are scared and behave in a proactive manner,” he added. “Additionally, most of the houses in the villages are small and don't have enough rooms to maintain social distancing according to the protocols.”