Punjab government encountered a major challenge on Friday as the number of coronavirus cases among the pilgrims who returned to the state from Nanded Sahib in Maharashtra over the past couple of days reached 183, accounting for 33.7% of the total COVID-19 cases in Punjab.
With 149 pilgrims testing positive on Thursday, the state saw its biggest one-day spike in coronavirus cases, of 167, taking its total to 569.
The Sikh pilgrims were stranded at the gurdwara Hazur Sahib in Maharashtra’s Nanded due to the nationwide coronavirus lockdown. They started returning to Punjab from April 22 but the order to quarantine them came five days later.
Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, targeted by opposition party Akali Dal for negligence in not ensuring proper quarantining of the pilgrims, has blamed the Maharashtra government where his party Congress is part of the ruling Shiv Sena-led coalition.
Maharashtra did not help the pilgrims and left them on their own. They didn’t get them tested,” Sidhu said on Thursday. The Akali Dal has demanded the health minister’s resignation, accusing him of not putting up guidelines for testing the pilgrims on their arrival in Punjab.
With over 4,000 pilgrims from Punjab stuck in Nanded since March, the first batch of pilgrims finally left for Punjab in special chartered buses five days ago followed by the rest of the pilgrims reports the Indian Express. However, challenge increased for Punjab when the pilgrims started testing positive for COVID-19 once they reached home.
Every year, nearly 30 lakh pilgrims visit the religious site located near Godavari river. The stranded pilgrims had eventually moved into hostels near the shrine.