Travellers screened at Lakhanpur allowed to enter Valley within 7 days

Srinagar: Only 15 travellers entering Kashmir through Srinagar-Jammu highway in the past fortnight were reported Covid positive, a senior doctor said.

The testing facility (Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) for incoming travellers at the entrance of Valley in Lower Munda on the highway was established two weeks ago. Since then, about 6000 people were tested at the facility including visitors, commuters, labourers and locals. Of them, only 15 travellers tested positive so far for the virus.

“Out of the 6000 Kashmir-bound travellers, only 15 travellers tested positive which mainly comprised labourers. After a traveller tests positive, a counselling session is held in which the infected person is informed about all the necessary precautions to be taken. Besides this, we provide some requirements to them including masks, sanitizers and hand gloves. This is all we can do,” In-charge testing facility Farooq Ahmad Tak told Kashmir Reader.

But travellers who are declared negative at Lakhanpur, the gateway to Jammu and Kashmir, are exempted from undergoing tests at the facility, according to Tak. They can enter the Valley within seven days from the date of testing.

“Anyone who gets tested at Lakhanpur and enters Kashmir within 7 days from then needs not to be tested again. He just has to produce the message which he has received after testing. We haven’t received any directions for re-testing of travellers within 7 days of time period across the J&K till now,’’ Tak added.

Travellers either coming by road or air have been contributing significantly to the overall Covid tally on a daily basis. In the past two weeks, as per the official data, nearly 4000 travellers tested positive for the virus.

KALEEM GEELANI