Manipur villagers build low-cost, eco-friendly quarantine facility

Senapati: Located at a distance of 168 km from state capital Imphal, villagers of Oinam village in Manipur’s Senapati district have come up with a low-cost and effective, yet an eco-friendly quarantine facility based on indigenous practices as precautionary measure to contain spread of deadly COVID-19 in the region.

Villagers used natural resources which are widely found in the jungle, including bamboos for temporary beds and wild leaves on the walls.

The quarantine facility has been constructed in the woods for those residents coming from different cities and states amid COVID-19 lockdown.

According to Phuping Railang, one of the locals, the center is being set up with a distance of 7 km from the main residential area, keeping in mind the severity of the disease if it spreads.

Every incoming resident to the village from another place or city will have to spend mandatory 20 days at the quarantine facility under the supervision of Oinam PHC, informed locals.

At present, the centre can accommodate at least 10 persons with separate rooms, toilets, bathrooms and self-cooking space. Moreover, each room has a distance of 10 feet in a bid to avoid crowding and maintain social distancing to fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

As per the locals, essential items like rice, salt and toiletries required by the inmates at the centre are being provided by the respective families. However, for vegetables, they can easily get it from the woods, he added.

Fresh water has also been sourced from a nearby stream by fixing bamboos, a practiced used by ancestors for people, at the quarantine facility, Railang said.

Likewise, apart from the district-wise quarantine centres, people in most of the interior villages in the state, especially the hill districts, have set up such facilities for the villagers coming back from COVID-19 affected states and cities.

Home to Poumai Naga community, Oinam village is one of the biggest villages in the district and is located in a hillock with scenic views. The village has a unique struggle in the annals of Naga history.