IMCT Accuses West Bengal of Not Cooperating With Them, After TMC Slams Visit of Central Teams to State as 'Adventure Tourism'; Watch Video
The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday, dubbed the visit of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to West Bengal to take stalk of the lockdown implementation as 'adventure tourism'.
West Bengal, April 21: The Trinamool Congress on Tuesday, dubbed the visit of the Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) to West Bengal to take stalk of the lockdown implementation as 'adventure tourism'. The party further questioned as to why teams were not sent to states with a much higher number of cases and hotspots.
Addressing reporters through a zoom conference, TMC MPs Derek O’ Brien and Sudip Bandyopadhyay claimed that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was informed about the team’s visit three hours after its arrival which was unacceptable. Mamata Banerjee Government Blames 'Defective Test Kits' Supplied by ICMR For Testing Delays in West Bengal.
Responding to which, Apurva Chandra Addl Secy MoD & IMCT team leader said, "IMCT teams have gone to other states like Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan. There they are getting the full support of state government. They were given the same notice as West Bengal but they have faced no problems since yesterday."
Here's the video shared by ANI:
He further said, "We came here yesterday morning and since then we've been asking the state govt to give us support and now it has been more than a day. We have only visited Nabanna and NICED. These are the only 2 places we have visited." The teams were blocked by West Bengal Government from entering coronavirus risk zones for assessment.
According to reports, the home ministry on Monday formed six IMCTs to assess the implementation of lockdown measures as per the guidelines, supply of essential commodities, social distancing, the preparedness of health infrastructure, and safety of health professionals and conditions of the relief camps. Out of which, two teams were sent to West Bengal to access the situation in the state.
The West Bengal Department of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday further alleged that defective test kits have been supplied by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for testing delays. In a series of tweets, the state health department said the faulty kits are forcing officials to opt for repeat/ ‘confirmatory’ test run, thereby causing a delay in the generation of the final test report.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 21, 2020 03:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).