New Delhi, 20th March: Along with the other members of the Parliament, Darjeeling MP Raju Bista too raised awareness expressed his concerns over the novel coronavirus. On Thursday, Bista raised the concerns of people from Darjeeling, Terai, and Dooars regarding the outbreak of COVID-19. He highlighted how the pandemic is affecting the economy and lives of the people who are dependent on tourism for their livelihood.
In addition to this, the MP also shone a light on how people from Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Northeast, and the people with Mongolian racial features living in big cities like Kolkata, Pune, Mumbai, and Delhi have been a victim of racism and are being called “Coronavirus”. He requested the Government to issue sensitization material about how diverse India is and how different people look from each other.
Bista stated that the situation also raised concerns as Darjeeling district shares borders with China, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, neighboring states of Sikkim, Bihar, Assam, and connects with the Northeast states. The districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong also attract the highest number of tourists in Eastern Himalaya. In view of this, the MP requested the Union government and the West Bengal government to provide rigorous screening facilities of all individuals, including foreigners and Indian nationals, coming into the region and to ensure an adequate supply of sanitizers, masks, and testing kits.
Bista also requested the government to provide a localized testing center for North Bengal as the only two testing centers in West Bengal are situated in Kolkata, which takes a long time for test results to arrive.
As the COVID-19 is also making an impact in the economy, Darjeeling MP Bista urged the government to develop a special economic package to help the tourism industry overcome the crisis.
(Internet inputs)
(Courtesy: Lok Sabha TV)
