Maksam Tayeng 

PASIGHAT, Jun 16: Amid the growing fear that community transmission of coronavirus could be triggered by the returnees, the Adi Baane Kebang Youth Wing (ABKYW) on Tuesday alleged that East Siang DC Dr. Kinny Singh is proving to be incompetent in handling the pandemic in the district.
In a press statement, ABKYW President Joluk Minung alleged that transmission of the virus from infected patients to two other frontline workers occurred due to the administrative negligence by the DC. Minung said that the Covid-19 related briefing by the DC to the media was not based on facts as the infection had already invaded the frontline workers due to their lack of proper guidance and monitoring and also due to the substandard PPE kits. ABKYW further alleged that the frontline workers were not put in designated quarantine camps and were allowed to stay at their official quarters with free movement and were made to wear the same disposal surgical masks for three to five days at a stretch which increased the risk of contagion. Alleging that DC Dr Singh besides being incompetent in discharging duties is also against the customary tribal norms, ABKYW has appealed the Chief Secretary to call her back and post a senior IAS officer as replacement.
When contacted for her clarification on the allegation, DC said that she along with her DA team has tried their best to handle the Covid cases in East Siang district. “We have been maintaining the basic guidelines of the government and efforts have been taken to stop community transmission. Contact tracing of all those who came in contact with the two frontline workers were done successfully and all such 116 contacts were put under quarantine,” Dr Singh clarified, adding that procurement of PPE kits was done by a board which checks the quality aspects and the Health department is looking into the matter. 
Regarding ABKYW’s claim that she is against the customary tribal norms, DC said that she has followed all the guidelines strictly while discharging duties and hinted that the allegation may be made out of personal vendetta, making it also clear that she is ready for any kind of inquiry or investigation. 
Meanwhile, DMO Dr. Kaling Dai through a clarification said that dwelling on allegations will only mean wastage of precious time in containing further spread of the virus. Appealing all stakeholders in the district to put up a united fight, Dr. Dai assured that all primary and secondary persons who came in contact with the two positive frontline workers  have been identified, traced and put under strict quarantine. 

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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