Jharkhand: 5 Chinese engineers set to join work after 28-day quarantine

RANCHI: Five Chinese engineers who arrived at the Adani Group’s under-construction thermal power plant in Godda district in Jharkhand on January 18 did not show symptoms of Covid-19, civil surgeon at Godda sadar hospital said on Wednesday.
The engineers from a Chinese company were given the work after a memorandum of understanding was signed in this regard in 2018. The five were quarantined at their homes for 28 days from February 3.
“They were under home isolation till the first week of March and were monitored daily. None of them showed symptoms of Covid-19 during the isolation period and they are free to join work now,” civil surgeon Dr Shiv Prasad Mishra said.
The Chinese engineers are camping at the plant site for months to oversee the erection of two boilers. The boilers, each of 800MW capacity, will measure 110 meters when they are completed. The first boiler is likely to become operational by September 2021.
Ranjit Malal, the additional collector doubling as the interim deputy commissioner of Godda, said there are approximately 80 Chinese nationals at the Godda plant and all of them were not quarantined because they have been stationed in Godda for many months. “The rest of them have been here for months, long before the coronavirus outbreak in China. Nevertheless, we are concerned about the whole situation and keeping a close watch,” Malal said. Local legislator Pradeep Yadav, who led a protest against the land acquisition drive for the plant in 2016, said, “All the 80 foreign nationals must be tested and put under isolation so that others working at the plant are not affected.”
A statement issued by Amritanshu Prasad, an official at Adani Power Jharkhand Limited, said, “Around 80 Chinese nationals are part of the workforce, building our 2x800MW Ultra Super Critical Thermal Power Plant at Godda. The last batch of five engineers arrived on January 18. The movement of personnel from China has been suspended since then.” The statement added, “Soon after the coronavirus outbreak came to light, the said Chinese engineers were quarantined and put under observation of a government-appointed civil surgeon.”