A religious congregation in the Nizamuddin area of Delhi last month that violated several guidelines by the government became a major worry after several attendees tested positive for coronavirus and travelled to different states. It has now emerged that a similar event was organised in Bihar’s Nalanda last month by the Tablighi Jamaat and was attended by over 600 people.
The state health authorities are now tracking the attendees to quarantine them and prevent them from travelling from one place to another. According to reports, as many as 640 people participated in the event. Of these, 277 have been traced and quarantined while 363 are still missing. The Nalanda Markaz event was organised on March 14 and 15.
In a letter dated April 12, the Nalanda district administration reportedly warned other departments about the incident, prompting authorities to initiate action and seal the Sekhana Mosque, the venue of the Markaz. Reports say that several members of Tablighi came from other districts including neighbouring Jharkhand.
The authorities are now on the lookout for tracing those members who had attended the event.
Meanwhile, Bihar Rural Development Minister Shravan Kumar said that the district administration is appropriately taking action against the organisers and appealed to the attendees to come forward for testing. According to reports, a person from Nawada has tested positive for coronavirus after he came in contact with a person who attended the congregation from Nalanda.
“The Nalanda district administration is taking action against the organisers of the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Bihar Sharif. The officials are working to get the details,” he told news against ANI. “All those who attended the event should come out and get tested. I request people who took part in the event to come forward and undergo necessary check-up,” Kumar added.
The Nizamuddin Markaz has become a major cause of concern for authorities across India after it turned out that several of the Tablighi Jamaat members who attended the event tested positive for coronavirus. Several of the attendees had also dispersed to all parts of the country and many of them have since tested positive. In Uttar Pradesh, authorities said that Tablighi Jamaat members who attended the Nizamuddin event accounted for 58% of its total coronavirus cases. In Tamil Nadu and a few other states, the percentage is even higher.
According to the state health department, two new Covid-19 cases were reported in Bihar in the last 24 hours, taking the total count of positive cases in the state to 72.