Amid rising number of coronavirus cases in Tripura - which has the highest number of COVID-19 cases among all the north-eastern states - people stepped out to protest on Sunday in Agartala against the state's decision to turn a hostel into COVID-19 care centre. Police resorted to force and baton-charged the protesters to disperse them.
Last week, the government had decided to turn a state-run hostel in the capital city - the Bhagat Singh Yuba Awas' - into a coronavirus care centre as Tripura saw a huge surge in the number of COVID-19 cases. Most new patients are jawans from three units of the Border Security Forces.
Locals, however, objected to the move, fearing that the illness may spread in the neighbourhoods around the hostel, which was supposed to start operating from Sunday.
While there are there are a lot of buildings in the state that can be used for the purpose, the state was taking a risk by choosing the hospital located in a densely populated part of the city, they said.
On Sunday, locals blocked a key road in the city. Policemen had to use batons to disperse them.
121 jawans of the Border Security Force or BSF are recovering from coronavirus in Tripura after a series of fresh cases surfaced from three battalions of the BSF in the last one week.
The massive spike in the number of COVID-19 cases had prompted the Biplab Kumar Deb-led state government to re-think its strategy in the fight against coronavirus.
The state government has already urged the BSF to conduct an inquiry into how the virus has spread among its men.
Last month, the Chief Minister had declared the state "coronavirus-free".
