Mumbai: mid-day investigation exposes how int’l passengers escape quarantine

Reported by ndash Samiullah Khan Shirish Vaktania Diwakar SharmaThe spread of COVID19 at jet speed may have dealt a crippling blow to Mumbai forcing the state government to bring back lockdownlike measures but a handful of civic officials deployed at the international airport seem to be actively contributing to the explosion of daily cases which are now over 11000 For only Rs 10000Rs 12000 these staffers are letting passengers from foreign lands escape the compulsory sevenday institutional quarantine an investigation by midday has foundThis newspaper uncovered shocking lapses by BMC officials deployed at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport whose job is to ensure passengers from the UK Europe Middle East and South Africa undergo the mandatory 7day institutional quarantine These are the nations that have reported fastspreading variants of coronavirus and such passengers could be potential carriers of such strainsmidday came across many passengers evading the mandatory quarantine with the help of BMC officials through an elaborate arrangement to make their exit from the airport look perfectly compliant with all norms midday formed two teams of reporters and photographers that trailed a few such passengers across the length and breadth of the city to uncover the murky dealingsA BMC official helps the man board an auto near NKGSB Bank on LBS Road in Kurla on April 3 PicsSatej ShindeAs per civic guidelines put up on BMCrsquos portal international passengers above 65 years of age needing support pregnant women parents with children below 5 years people having serious illness and those who landed in the city in extreme family distress conditions are permitted home isolation All other flyers must undergo institutional quarantine for seven days says the SOPInternational passengers are ferried to hotels marked for quarantine in BEST busesAfter getting clearance from the immigration window at the international airport civic officials show the passengers a list of hotels marked for institutional quarantine This is where a lsquodealrsquo is struck if the hotel budget does not suit a flyerrsquos pocket or the hotel room is inadequate for his stay for seven consecutive daysDay 1 April 1 ThursdayA midday team reached the international airport to discreetly inquire about the malpractices by civic officials We struck a conversation with a civic staffer and told him a female passenger would be arriving in Mumbai from a Gulf country and expressed eagerness to take her home bypassing the institutional quarantineThis civic staffer told midday that passengers should choose West Inn hotel to get their work doneThe BMC employee offered a lsquosolutionrsquo to a midday reporter He said ldquoTell your passenger that after getting clearance from immigration there is a BMC counter where international passengers are asked to fill a form and mention the name of a hotel If she mentions West Inn hotel we will manage to send her directly to home instead of getting her institutional quarantined for seven daysrdquoThe reporter told the civic official that the female passenger would be reaching the city the next day which was April 2 The official gave out his mobile number and asked the reporter to contact him on her arrival ldquoCall me we will managerdquo said the civic officialDay 2 April 2 Fridaymidday team saw many BEST buses parked near the arrival section of the international airport Depending on their choice of hotel six to seven passengers were asked to sit in each bus Except for a mask neither the drivers nor the civic officials had PPE suits on themThe passenger in cap at Sunshine hotel on April 2The team followed a BEST bus with registration number MH 47 AS 1016 It reached the Sunshine Hotel in the vicinity and one passenger stepped out One Innova car bearing registration number MH01 BU 6378 arrived and the passengerrsquos luggage was shifted to the vehicle from the bus The passenger was asked to go back to the busHis luggage being transferred to an Innova bearing registration number MH01 BU 6378The BEST bus reached a local pantea shop The driver and the BMC official accompanying the flyers got down to have snacks tea and cigarettes Something was discussed in private at the shop and the BEST bus left from there and reached West Inn hotel in AndheriThe same passenger came out of the bus while others remained inside and entered the hotel with the BMC official After a while the Innova arrived there A few minutes later the passenger walked out of West Inn and sat inside the Innova in which his luggage was previously keptThe man gets down at Om Anant Residency in UlweThe Innova moved towards Ghatkopar It stopped near the Phoenix mall and one of the occupants from the car came out and bought some munchies from a shop As the vehicle waited near the mall a person reached there on a Scooty and collected a parcel from the occupantsThe team kept trailing the Innova went all the way up to Ulwe about 60 km from the airport and stopped near Om Anant Residency where the passenger got down After enquiring with the residents midday learnt that the man had arrived from a Gulf nation and he lives in flat number 102Day 3 April 3 Saturdaymidday followed a BEST bus with registration number MH 47 AS 1016 carrying seven international passengers from the airport A few of them had arrived from Oman The bus headed towards Chakala but we lost track of it due to traffic We managed to catch up with it but the passengers from Oman were not inside At one location in Marol the bus stopped and one passenger alighted with his two bags Soon a motorcycle with registration number MH 04 FN 7904 approached himA BMC official right with an international passenger in light blue Tshirt in a discussion near BKC Dormitory on LBS Road in Kurla on April 3 extreme left middayrsquos Shirish Vaktania in a helmetThe team trailed the motorcycle which finally reached Bhiwandi via Eastern Expressway and ThaneThe motorcycle stopped and bought something from a shop at Kalher in Bhiwandi Taluka After riding for 25km it reached Kilhuri Diva and midway they stopped to have sugarcane juice But the rider forgot his helmet at the shop so they returned to the spot to collect it The name of the passenger was Vijay PawarThe flier is finally on his own near Dadar gurudwara at Shindewadi PicSatej ShindeThe same day the team returned to the airport and talked to BMC officials to send a female passenger directly home ldquoHow do you know about itrdquo wondered a BMC employee at the airportA midday reporter told the civic employee that the female passenger would be arriving next morning ldquoHow will you manage itrdquo asked the reporter ldquoOur morning team is different Had it been today we would have got it donerdquo replied the BMC officialThis civic staffer at the airport promised to resolve the problemThat day another midday reporter followed BEST with registration number MH 47 AS 1289 The bus left the airport in the afternoon and reached Emerald Inn hotel at Sakinaka where one passenger in a red Tshirt got down with his luggage and entered the hotel Apparently after conducting his checkin the BMC official and the passenger with his luggage returned to the BEST bus which again headed towards the airport The same passenger then entered another BEST bus bearing registration number MH 47 AS 0971 that had other flyers too The bus left and reached Kurla stopped near a teacigarette shop The passenger as well as the BMC official got down The duo discussed something for a few minutes and was back in the bus that began moving on the LBS RoadThe baggage tag showed the passengerrsquos name as Vijay PawarThe bus stopped before the junction of LBS Road and BKC in front of a petrol pump and the passenger who had been first taken to a hotel in Sakinaka in a different bus got down and the BMC official followed him carrying his luggage The duo crossed the road and flagged an auto The international flier got inside with his luggage while the BMC official returned to the BEST bus which then headed towards DadarHotel West Inn at Andheri Sakinaka was mentioned as one of the places where the lsquosettingrsquo is allegedly doneIt stopped at Shindewadi and another passenger alighted along with the BMC official The duo went inside a narrow lane discussed something in private and the passenger was allowed to go in a taxiWest Inn responseVijay Pawar rode the bike all the way up to Bhiwandi on April 3 PicsRajesh GuptaldquoA couple of days ago BMC officials had brought two passengers to our property in a BEST bus but the room was not available Both the passengers had arrived from foreign land Since the room was not available the BMC officer took them back to the airportrdquo said Zainuddin Manu the owner of West Inn hotelDay 4 April 4 ndash SundayThe team met a BEST driver named Vasant who has been ferrying international passengers from the airport to hotels Posing as family members of a female passenger arriving from a Gulf country midday reporters asked if he could help Vasant said he has been doing the ldquosettingrdquo for 1012 people daily Vasant said he drops them at hotels who are released after checkinBEST bus driver Vasant said BMC officials send 1012 fliers home by taking money every dayMiddayNewsCaught on camera Midday investigation exposes how international passengers arriving at Mumbai airport escape COVID19 quarantine Video Credit ShirishVaktaniaMiddayNews Mumbainews Covid19 pictwittercomMfZlNlGooVmdash Mid Day mid_day April 5 2021Conversation with Vasant batch number 2812 of JalnaReporter My sister is coming from Dubai todayVasant When will she arriveReporter She will come by this eveningBus driver Where do you stayReporter BorivaliBus driver Do you want to take her home or you will drop her at the hotelReporter Airport officials are not letting international fliers go home Is it possibleVasant takes a midday reporter to a corner for settlementBus driver Take the contact details of Dipali who is running a hotel and she will manage everything but give my name to herReporter How much will I have to pay herVasant You have to pay R10000 to Dipali to avoid quarantine for your sisterReporter How will you do itVasant First we will take the passenger from the international airport to a select hotel In the hotel we do the checkin We release them once they pay up Rs 10000Reporter You mean my sister will have to stay in the hotelVasant No no Only she will have to visit the hotel give a copy of her passport and spend just an hour for the paperwork There is a hotel in Borivali but they are not releasing people Every hotel is taking a minimum Rs 2000 from the customer I will provide you with the cheapest hotel and your work will be done in only Rs 1000012000Reporter Koi problem nahi hoga naVasant BMC officers visit the hotel daily and they collect money The hotel and BMC people have full settingReporter My sister will not get into any problems naVasant Not at all Every day we are dropping 1012 people and doing the setting Call Dipali and she will manage everything Give the money to her after completing your workThe elusive Dipalimidday got in touch with tout Dipali who refused to meet the team She demanded R12000 to get the work done After much haggling she brought it down to R11000 ldquoWe will get the passengers checked in and then help them go home We will collect the money after thatrdquo she saidHave mechanism to check if passengers are in hotel BMCThe Deputy Municipal Commissioner Parag Masurkar said ldquoAround 15 days ago we have stopped sending BMC staff in the BEST buses carrying passengers who have arrived in Mumbai from foreign countriesrdquoldquoNow the list of passengers is given to the BEST bus driver who takes them to the hotel for institutional quarantine We have a full mechanism to check if the passenger reached the hotel or not On the sixth day we visit the hotels and examine them to know if they are symptomatic If they are found symptomatic we take them to COVID hospitalrdquo said Masurkar who is the incharge at the airport for institutional quarantine of passengers travelling from foreign landsldquoI donrsquot know who goes in the BEST bus with passengers I need to check But apart from BMC staff the officials from the Collectorrsquos office are also there at the airport and the list of hotels is kept with the staff of Collector officerdquo said Masurkar adding ldquoI will check with my staff in a day or two to know who goes in the BEST bus with passengers Also there is CCTV footage to ascertain if BMC staff are going with the passengers in BEST busesrdquoBMC giving wrong info CollectorThe Collectorrsquos office staff at the international airport for segregationThe Collector of Mumbai Suburban district Milind Borikar said his staff segregate international passengers arriving in Mumbai ldquoI am not aware of the malpractice which is going on there at the airport but the entire procedure of quarantining passengers travelling from foreign countries is controlled by the BMC only We have no role to play into thatrdquoBorikar said their team identifies passengers who are not coming from UK Europe Middle East and South Africa and send to their respective districts for home quarantine ldquoSimultaneously we are intimating their district collectorsrdquoOn being asked if the list of hotels is kept with the Collector office staff at the airport as told by the DMC Masurkar the Collector said ldquoNo no He is giving you wrong information because we are not at all concerned with the quarantine facility our staff is working there only to segregate passengersrdquoldquoThe list of hotels is kept exclusively with the BMC officials he Masurkar must be short of informationrdquo underlined Borikar who further added that there are six to eight counters of Collectorrsquos office near Customs office inside the airport to segregate the international travellers Diwakar Sharma