Srinagar: Eighty-one passengers of an Air India Leh-Srinagar flight were quarantined on their arrival here on Wednesday, officials said.
The flight was then diverted back to Leh where it dropped the remaining 25 passengers, they said.
“A Srinagar-bound Air India flight was returned this morning. Eighty-one passengers have been quarantined in Srinagar, while 25 were de-boarded in Leh,” Deputy Commissioner Srinagar Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary said.
The officer said all passengers arriving from Leh at Srinagar airport will have to undergo mandatory quarantine.
Meanwhile, District Magistrate Srinagar has ordered restricted entry of travellers from Leh and Kargil areas to Srinagar.
The order states that only those travellers can enter Srinagar who have undergone quarantine for the specified two-week period immediately before the intending date of travel and certified and cleared by the competent medical authority in Ladakh.
Travellers from the region who will not have undergone quarantine in their region will have to undergo quarantine in Srinagar before being allowed to proceed to their desired destinations, the order said.
The order also applies to road travellers from the region. The ferrying of passengers in Indian Air Force aircrafts has been suspended altogether till further notice.
Concerned authorities have been asked to ensure strict implementation of the order and all instructions therein and ensure that no exemptions are allowed.
The order has been issued under Section 34 of the National Disaster Management Act 2005 and is aimed at preventing spread of coronavirus infection in Srinagar.
It should be noted these restrictions have been ordered after surfacing of several confirmed cases of coronavirus in the Ladakh region and are aimed at preventing spread of the infection in Srinagar, an official press release said.
