Babughat camp for Gangasagar pilgrims to have Covid testing facility

Kolkata: Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will have facilities for COVID-19 testing and an isolation unit at the camp for Gangasagar pilgrims to be set up at Babughat.

"We will have facilities for rapid test as well as RT-PCR testing at the camp. Every person who will be putting up at the camps will have to undergo a body temperature check with a thermal scanner before entering the camp. If there is slightest symptom, the person will be kept in isolation and if found positive after testing, he or she will be transported to our safe home or that of Kolkata Police at Eden Gardens nearby," said Firhad Hakim, Chairman Board of Administrators, KMC, after a preparatory meeting regarding Gangasagar Fair with all stakeholders at the KMC on Friday. Adequate buses will be arranged for ferrying the Gangasagar pilgrims from the spot. Testing facilities will also be set up at Sealdah with assistance from the district administration.

KMC is responsible for management of the camps that are set up for the pilgrims who come from other states to take the holy dip at Gangasagar. "We will ensure that physical distancing and other health protocols in connection with COVID-19 is followed at the Babughat camp to the best possible extent," Hakim added.