Coronavirus outbreak: Taftan pilgrims in Multan quarantine camp complain of inadequate facilities

MULTAN: Pilgrims from Taftan who were quarantined at a camp in the city on Friday complained of inadequate facilities, saying that they were not screened for coronavirus. 

Nearly 1270 pilgrims, earlier in the day, had reached Multan from Taftan, while 433 have reached Dera Ismail Khan.

The pilgrims said that there were inadequate facilities at the camp due to which they were facing problems.

A pilgrim said that in some of the blocks basic necessities such as electricity and water were not available. He said that the washrooms of the camp were in poor condition. 

The conditions of the beds provided by the government were in poor condition, the pilgrims said, adding that they wanted authorities to take immediate action against the inadequate facilities. 

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Meanwhile, the city's assistant commissioner Tayyab Khan refuted the claims, saying that the pilgrims had been screened and that officials were present at the camps.

Yes, there are a few problems in some of the blocks but we will solve them soon, he said.

Today was the first day, he said, adding that they would resolve all the issues faced by the pilgrims in future.

'Taftan pilgrims not properly managed'

Earlier in the week, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi had slammed the government, blaming its mismanagement at the Taftan border for the spread of the virus throughout the country.

"Sindh government's response compared to other governments was much bette," he said. "According to our information, 500 pilgrims from Taftan were sent to Iran."

Read more: Latest coronavirus updates

He said that the entire country will bear the brunt of the government's mismanagement at the Taftan border. Abbsai said that today, Punjab needed Shehbaz Sharif as Chief Minister Buzdar was incapable of solving the crisis.