Intense heat drives migrants to spend time out in the open

Bhubaneswar: The scorching summer has forced migrants putting up in quarantine centres to abandon their rooms and sleep under the open sky on the centres’ premises in several districts, endangering their lives. On Friday, a man was bitten by a snake at a quarantine centre in Balangir’s Sindhekela village.
In most villages, schools, community halls and panchayat offices have been converted into quarantine homes and most do not have fans.This has added to the woes of migrants already under stress due to the extension of quarantine from 14 to 28 days. And the centres that have ceiling fans, the radiation of heat from the concrete roofs both during the day and night, has made it unbearable for people to stay inside the building.
In Balangir district’s Agalpur block, the migrants mostly spend their time under the shade of the tree on the quarantine centre premises. They just keep their belongings in the rooms. “It is difficult to sleep inside the room. A person will keep sweating and feel exhausted because of dehydration. We come out after lunch leaving behind our luggage and just bring a mat with us to sleep on. We take a nap under the shade of the tree during the afternoon. The evenings are bearable though,” said Upendra Suna, who has returned from Tamil Nadu.
But Suna is always fearful of being bitten by insects and reptiles while sleeping. “During the summer, small reptiles often come out of their hiding places. One may be caught unawares,” Suna added.
Mohan Putel, vice-chairman of Agalpur block, said some migrants sought permission to sleep outside their room because of the heat. “We had to allow them to sleep in the open as they still will be within the premises and there is a boundary wall around the centre. They keep their belongings in the rooms and come out to chill. We have people to keep watch on the migrants at the quarantine centres,” he said. There is no scarcity of drinking water with a tube well on the premises.
In Bhadrak district, thousands of migrants blocked National Highway-16 protesting against poor quality of food and accommodation provided to them. The batch of 47 migrants, all natives of Bargarh district, had arrived at Charampa railway station. They came from Coimbatore. Later police intervened and cleared the road blockade and took the labourers to a temporary shelter from where they will be sent to their native places in buses.