With cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) rising in the State, the Assam government has asked the Guwahati Lakhtokia Masjid leaders to share a list of all those who attended the Nizamuddin Markaz event in Delhi.
The century-old Lakhtokia Masjid is the headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat in Assam. State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held a meeting with the masjid leaders and directed them to share the list of Markaz attendees so that they can be quarantined in order to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The Assam government had earlier asked all of its citizens to voluntarily report themselves to the nearby government hospital or local health officials if they were present at the Nizamuddin Markaz religious congregation in Delhi.
Sarma earlier requested the Jamaat leaders to cooperate with the government and disclose the names of the attendees from Assam.
“We request all those who attended the Markaz event to voluntarily come forward for the greater good of the society. The government will be bound to take action against those who are hiding their travel history,” Sarma said while addressing a presser in Guwahati on April 4th, 2020.
The Assam government has already launched a tracing drive for those who came to Assam in March from the religious meeting of Tablighi Jamaat Markaz in Delhi’s Nizamuddin West.
Out of 26 cases of COVID-19 in Assam, 25 had a travel history that can be traced back to Tablighi Jamaat Markaz.
The government has also directed the district leaders of the Tablighi Jamaat to share the list of the travellers.
The Nizamuddin Markaz, the Tablighi Jamaat headquarters in south Delhi has emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot.
Photo credit: @himantabiswa
