Bhopal/Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): Spot a home quarantine Covid patient and get a cash award of Rs 500. In a move to identify people with mild Covid symptoms loitering around, Gwalior district administration has announced award for people who will inform it about such individuals. The informer’s identity will be kept confidential.
The announcement made by Bhitarwara (Gwalior district) tehsildar is yielding results as the administration has managed to ensure that Covid patients and suspects remain in home isolation or in containment areas.
Bhitarwara Tehsildar Shyamu Shrivastava told Free Press said that there were reports that people who were in home isolation breached Covid protocol.
“It is very important to break chain of infection. In rural areas, many patients break the protocol. It is also tough to keep strict watch on every individual. Therefore, I decided to take help of locals and I came up with this idea. It is a very fruitful idea. As of now, I have got information about five persons who breached Covid protocol in Bhitarwara rural area,” Shrivastava told Free Press over phone.
He said people have to take photograph of Covid patient who are loitering around and send it to administration.
When asked as to who will pay the award money, he said, “As of now, I am paying from my pocket. But it will be paid through Red Cross Society later. I will soon send a proposal to Society. I believe that people will stop breaching the protocol now,” he said.
In all, 650 people have tested corona positive in Bhitarwara sub-division and of them 350 recovered. “Our first priority is to give proper treatment to patients. Most patients are in home quarantine,” Shrivastava said.
