At around 7 pm on the evening of 10 May, I got a phone call from my mother about the possibility of trains starting from New Delhi to various cities in India. I was at the time doing an internship in Kota and was stuck for about 50 days and wanting to go back home to Mumbai. Given the high incidence of cases in the city, my mom recommended I go to Udupi and live at our ancestral home.
So on 11 May, after about 5 hours in front of my laptop, I promptly booked a ticket from Kota to Mangalore, which is about 60 km from Udupi. I paid around Rs 3,000 for a 3 AC ticket.
On 13 May, I reached Kota Railway Station at around 2:30 pm. We were made to wait for about 1-1.5 hours for screening and identity verification before entering the platform. The train finally entered the station at around 4:40 pm and we departed from Kota at around 5 pm.
The worst part was that even the middle berths were occupied in each and every bogie even though they were supposed to be empty as per social distancing norms.
The ready-to-eat sealed food packets as well as chips, biscuits, etc were served in the train by the pantry staff.
After about 24 hours, I finally reached Mangalore Junction at 5:30 pm the next day along with 25 other passengers.
After reaching the station, screening was done and a food packet was given containing pulao and puri bhaji along with a water bottle. After all the paperwork, we were sent in one of the state government buses to Udupi with about 8 others. After reaching the town of Karkala at around 10 pm, another round of screening and paperwork was done and arrangements for quarantine were made.
All the bachelors were put in a government hostel facility with dorm rooms while families with women and children were placed in facilities with private rooms with 4-5 beds.
Private lodge facilities were available starting from Rs 700 per day.
State of My Quarantine Facility
We finally reached our quarantine facility at around midnight on 15 May and what we saw wasn’t good. With only about 5 bathrooms and 8 toilets for 24 people in the facility, it was a disaster waiting to happen.
The toilets were not clean, one of the toilets was blocked. There was no hand wash next to the wash basin.
The toilets were not clean at the facility.
(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)
The only thing great about the facility at the time was the mattresses, which seemed to be new and in good condition.
The next day, the Karkala taluk authorities came and addressed all our problems regarding common bathrooms, hygiene, broken bulbs, etc.
Fortunately by evening, everything was fixed and each bathroom was allotted to 5 individuals with lock and key. Rooms are being sanitised and cleaned everyday.
However, even though it is a quarantine facility, there are no security personnel outside to control the movement. What stops us from going outside the facility is the legal and social repercussions, as the people coming from COVID-affected districts should not be flouting quarantine and putting others at risk.
The arrangement isn’t exactly perfect in terms of social distancing, but everyone around here is comfortable and individual plates and buckets provided to everyone, with masks being worn in common areas.
Majority of people coming to the town of Karkala came from Mumbai through buses, private vehicles, etc.
There will always be gaps in arranging facilities for thousands of people coming in a small town, but all problems were heard and solutions provided.
The district didn’t turn its back to anyone who couldn’t afford to quarantine themselves in a private lodge facility on paid basis. Everyone was placed in a quarantine facility paid or government ones without any exception.
I will be tested on the 11th day of my quarantine. I hope all is well and I can return home soon.
(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)