36-Hour Operation To Evacuate Over 2,300 From Tablighi Jamaat Building In Delhi

A 36-hour operation to evacuate 2,361 people from a building in south Delhi's Nizamuddin neighbourhood, which has emerged as the nation's biggest coronavirus hotspot, was completed in the early hours of Wednesday morning, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said today.

The evacuations began on Monday amid a nationwide search for more suspected COVID-19 cases after a large religious gathering at the building was linked to 128 confirmed patients across India, including 24 in Delhi, and seven deaths.

Lanes near the "Markaz Nizamuddin", the Delhi headquarters of the Tablighi Jamaat group, were blocked off by officials in protective suits. The government deployed DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) buses to transport evacuees to hospitals and quarantine facilities.

"In the last 36 hours we have run a very extensive operation in coordination with medical authorities, police, DTC and others and the operation went on till 4 am in the morning. A total of 2361 have been evacuated; out of them 617 have been sent to hospital, while the rest have been sent to different quarantine facilities," Manish Sisodia told news agency ANI.

Mr Sisodia also tweeted, adding: "Medical staff, administration, police and DTC staff all worked together in this 36-hour operation, putting their lives at risk. Hats off to all of them".

The entire building, as well as the area around it, is being sanitised by a team from the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), ANI reported.

On March 21 there were 1,746 people (216 were foreigners) at the Tablighi Jamaat's Markaz Nizamuddin

A religious gathering had been held at the Markaz between March 13 and March 15.

In addition, and in defiance of all social distancing rules repeatedly highlighted by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, hundreds had been living in the 100-year-old complex since March 8. On March 21 there were 1,746 people there (216 were foreigners), according to the Home Ministry.

In total, 2,371 members of the Tablighi Jamaat group have been identified in different states, the government has said. Testing and isolation of some of these members is ongoing and a search is on for others who have dispersed across the country.

The number of COVID-19 positive cases that have been linked to the Tablighi Jamaat gathering is growing and is cause of serious concerns for authorities. Tamil Nadu has reported 50 cases, with 24 in Delhi, 21 in Telangana, 10 in the Andamans and one each in Assam and Jammu and Kashmir.

824 foreigners had also travelled to different states and their details had been shared with the police chiefs, the Home Ministry added.

Speaking after the evacuation Manish Sisodia urged those members to identify themselves, warning them: "If you try to hide your illness from the administration then action will be taken against you".

In a statement the Markaz defended itself and said the event had been cancelled after the Prime Minister's "Janata Curfew" on March 22. However, members could not leave because of the lockdown.

Officials have responded by pointing out the Delhi government had called for all gatherings, including religious ones, to be suspended on March 13 itself.

Meanwhile, a first information report (FIR) has been registered against Maulana Saeed, the head of the Tablighi Jamaat, and six others under the Epidemic Disease Act.

The FIR holds the accused responsible for the gathering and says visitors were allowed to continue living on the premises despite a notice being issued to them on March 24.

With input from ANI