Mumbai: mid-day investigation jolts BMC into action, probe ordered against fliers who escaped quarantine

BEST buses meant to pick up international arrivals seen at the airport. Pics/Satej Shinde

Reported by - Diwakar Sharma, Samiullah Khan and Shirish Vaktania

Senior Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials swung into action after mid-day's front-page report about civic staff helping international arrivals skip the mandatory institutional quarantine in exchange for bribes. Among the few senior civic officials who visited the airport on Tuesday was Deputy Municipal Commissioner (DMC) Parag Masurkar, who told mid-day that records of international travellers arriving from the UK, Europe, Middle East and South Africa are being verified.

BMC officers at the airport during their inspection on Monday

The verification is being done right from the Immigration counter to the hotels where they were sent for quarantine. Civic staff were seen verifying log sheets and documents of all international passengers maintained by them at the airport.

"We are cross-checking the names and details of passengers highlighted in your report. We are verifying with our records and the hotels," Masurkar said.

"The people seen in BMC jackets are not our staff but private loaders who have been appointed by us to load passengers' luggage into the BEST bus at the airport. They had been accompanying passengers in the BEST bus right from the international airport to the designated hotels. But we started receiving complaints against the loaders, so we stopped their services 15 days ago," said Masurkar.

A BEST bus followed by mid-day seen at Kings Circle, Matunga on April 3

"We are also checking how the loaders were allowed to enter the BEST buses if their services were stopped," Masurkar added.

When asked if BMC officials present at the airport are under the scanner for not stopping loaders from boarding the buses, Masurkar said, "Action would certainly be taken against them if found involved in the malpractice."

"Also, ward officers have been asked to cross-check the list of passengers and their availability at hotels in their jurisdiction. If passengers are not found at the hotel, action will be taken against them and others involved in this racket. The culprits will be brought to book within the ambit of law," said Masurkar.

CCTV footage scanned

The BMC has found loopholes in its system and has checked the footage of CCTV cameras installed on BEST buses. Masurkar said, "We have recovered the CCTV footage from the entry and exit points of the airport and buses. We found that many people violated quarantine rules. We also verified mid-day's photos with the CCTV footage. People violating quarantine will be booked, we are in the process of registering the FIR, which will be done by Tuesday."

A BMC official helps an international passenger get into a cab after dropping him midway at Dadar on April 3

Apart from Masurkar, Assistant Municipal Commissioner (AMC) Prashant Sakpale of K West ward visited the airport with 15 staffers.

On Monday, mid-day found that at the airport, the staff which was caught on camera has disappeared from the airport. While BEST bus driver, Vasant, also caught on camera, has been asked not to report to work pending an investigation.

"We have a special COVID war room at BMC offices. This team collects daily data on passengers from the airport. We can also trace their locations through their mobile number, given to us at the airport exit," a civic official said.

mid-day was present at the airport during Masurkar and Sapkale's inspection.

Seven to eight workers appointed on contract, a BEST driver and conductor, were also scolded by the BMC officiers.

Parag Masurkar, deputy municipal commissioner

"In addition, the AMC and health officers have been asked to personally check on passengers who arrived six days ago and were asked to quarantine. Responsibility has to be fixed and action has to be taken against those guilty," the source said.

BMC's official statement in response to mid-day's report on quarantine malpractice

This has reference to the news item titled "CITY Flying into Trouble" published in mid-day, Mumbai edition dated 5 April 2021. In this regard, on behalf of the Municipal Administration, I would like to clarify as mentioned below. "The news published in today's mid-day reflected some alleged malpractices being exercised with respect to quarantine of international passengers at hotels. The BMC has taken this issue very seriously and the detailed enquiry has been immediately ordered by the administration. Deputy Municipal Commissioner (Zone-III) Shri Parag Masurkar is directed to conduct detailed enquiry of this alleged malpractice and to submit the report to Municipal Commissioner within 15 days. Apart from this, all the concerned Assistant Commissioners and executive Health Officer are directed to check all the quarantine centres in their jurisdiction where the passengers are quarantined during last one week till date and to take stringent action as per the provisions of Epidemic Diseases Act 1987, the Disaster Management Act 2005 and other legal provisions in case of any passenger breaching quarantine norms." - Tanaji Kamble, PRO, BMC