Hello Everyone! Today, I intend to share my own experience of returning home amid Lockdown restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic. Since I am Civil Service aspirant, therefore this post will be an experience sharing cum critical appraisal of the administrative setup, through the prism of my own expectation from the administration.
As the title suggests, I returned from Delhi to my hometown Sunderbani, District Rajouri, J&K. I was stuck at Delhi where I had appeared for my Personality Test (Interview) on March 17 for this year's UPSC Civil Services Examination. I planned to return home somewhere around 22/23 March, 2020 after I received the report of my Medical Examination. But, as with several others, my plan could not be realised because of the nationwide Lockdown announced on March 23.
So, after a wait of about 2 months I planned to return home by Train on May 18th. But, on 17th Morning one of my friends sent me a video on WhatsApp where people who had arrived by train were protesting about inadequate facilities in the quarantine center. That prompted me to call my father and finally I cancelled the first 1st AC ticket of my life. The cancellation charges of Rs. 1250/- made me a bit perturbed, and I began regretting the moment I had booked the ticket. But, comparing it with the agony of the stranded migrant laborers, I was convinced that mine was a petty loss.
Then one fine day, on the morning of May 22nd, recovering from the little trauma, I again gathered the courage to book the train ticket for May 29. But, this time I had consulted with one of my friends about the Quarantine facilities and about the time to be spent in those facilities before the test reports would arrive. I was very much convinced that I would definitely travel home this time.
But, as the fate would have it, on 22nd itself, the government announced that the flight operations would also resume from 25th May, and Delhi-Jammu was in the list of approved routes. So again, I got double-minded about the mode of travel that I should opt. Definitely, I didn't want to incur a loss of another 1250/- bucks. So, I kept on convincing myself about the safety of travelling by train. But, this worked only till 25th morning when the flight operations actually started!
I was prompted to book a flight ticket for May 28th, partly due to lower than expected prices and after doing a thorough cost-benefit analysis and comparison of risks of infections through Air or Railways. But, still I decided not to cancel my train ticket until I was sure that I would not require it.
Hereafter, started my efforts towards gathering authentic information about the facilities being provided to travelers in Jammu, about the quarantine facilities, their comparison, and about estimated time that I would have to spend there before being allowed for Home Quarantine.
In this pursuit, I scanned various notifications/circulars/info bulletins published by the J&K administration. I kept an eye on the no. of tests being done per day and the time taken for the reports of those sampled, to arrive. I kept on inquiring (on twitter) about the paid quarantine facilities being provided to different travelers. Luckily, one fine gentleman Mr. Vipan Bhagat (who is a KAS officer posted in Dept of Info and Public Relations (DIPR J&K)) responded to my queries on twitter and provided me with the information I had sought.
Now, I had finally made up my mind to travel by air and opt for paid quarantine facility in Katra (Air travelers are being moved to Katra for paid quarantine). I still didn't cancel my train ticket just to keep another option open in case the flight got cancelled. Finaly, the morning of 28th May arrived.
I finished my packing, and booked an Uber Cab (surprisingly, Ola was not functional in Delhi till that day) to the IGI Airport. My flight was to depart at 14:20 hours. But, I started well in advance to avoid any glitches or last minute rush. Surely, I wanted to cover every remote possibility of missing the flight that day. (My experience of missing the Vandebharat Express in Oct 2019 is altogether a different story that had provided me with the much needed lessons).
I reached the Airport well before 11 am. After completing all formalities, thermal scanning, baggage sanitization etc. I finally waited for the boarding process for my flight to begin. In the meantime, when I was sure that the flight will not be cancelled, I cancelled my Train ticket, and got my first pleasant surprise of the day. Instead of 1250/- rupees the cancellation charges had been slashed by half to about 600/- Rupees. In this way, I happened to cancel my second 1st AC ticket (perhaps will travel some other day)!
Before the boarding process for my flight started, the boarding crew of the airlines distributed a personal safety kit (face shield, surgical mask and hand sanitizer) to all the travelers. They managed the boarding process efficiently ensuring strict Social (read physical) Distancing. The flight finally took-off with a delay of about half an hour but managed to cover the delay significantly by landing at Jammu Airport with only a 15-minutes delay!
Interestingly, while I was seated in the front rows (4th to be precise), I observed that as soon as the flight landed, many of my fellow passengers stood up to de-board, despite repeated announcements by the flight crew requesting them to observe social distancing. I was amazed and perturbed simultaneously wondering if there is a competition to de-board first or if they had announced some attractive prizes for those de-boarding first. Anyways, I learnt another lesson that the mode of travel doesn't necessarily reflect the level of responsibility or wisdom of the citizens/people.
We were received cordially at the Jammu Airport and those charge of affairs again ensured strict compliance to social distancing, and smoothly regulated the flow of passengers to the COVID sampling kiosks specially set up for this purpose. I waited for my turn, got sampled, and was directed out of the building towards a counter where they asked if I wanted paid or free quarantine. I opted for paid quarantine, and was seated in a low-floor SRTC Bus with those who had also opted for the same. We were served water there. Everything went on smoothly until then.
Finally we waited for the bus to be filled (with 20 passengers)-can argue that social distancing was compromised a bit here as well. The Bus departed for Katra at around 5:00 PM. Till now, we had no idea about the options of hotels available at Katra. I tried to inquire regarding the same through twitter, but sadly, no one responded. The fellow passengers (some of them came to know about quarantine in Katra there only) seemed bit agitated about the lack of clarity. Some of them were coming from Pune, Maharashtra and explained about how they had been travelling for the past more than 12 hours. In fact, even the bus driver had no clue about where in Katra were we being taken to.
(Here the administration could have done well by providing information and clarity at the Jammu Airport itself).
Anyways, our Bus was being escorted by one Special Operations Group (SOG) vehicle of J&K Police. Everything was fine until we reached the boundaries of District Reasi (from Jammu District). Here, at the entry check-post, being manned by a team of police personnel led by a young Sub-Inspector, stopped our Bus, asked the driver to come down and furnish the details of the Bus and route etc. Here, I found this exercise to be unnecessary, because of a few reasons. One, that our Bus was a part of the fleet arranged by the government. Second, there must have been buses moving on earlier instances as well. Third, our bus was escorted by police itself who could have provided the necessary info. I observed a lack of coordination between the police of two adjacent districts of the same state.
Here, I wondered and was perhaps a bit convinced that the ego issues being portrayed among different police personnel/stations/districts/states in online tele-series (Delhi Crime@Netflix; Paatal Lok@Amazon etc.) are largely real!
After, 'wasting' more than 15 minutes at the check-post, our Bus started its onward journey to be stopped again for a while at the next check-post (making my fellow passengers more restless and agitated). Meanwhile, I kept on refreshing my twitter feed hoping to get some information regarding the hotels where we would be accommodated-but no one responded. I was also busy in attending phones from my family and relatives inquiring about the future course, and naturally didn't feel much restlessness then because of being "preoccupied". Plus, this was an altogether new experience for me, which would help me write an elaborate blog-post later!!
In a few minutes, we reached our next halting station at the SMVD Shrine Board Spiritual Growth Centre- turned reception centre. Here we were asked to de-board the bus one by one, and then "allocated" a hotel. I was allocated Hotel KC Residency, Katra (in fact each one of us was allocated the same hotel). I tried to inquire with a lady in-charge of the operations there, about the list of the hotels that the people could chose from. The lady, though courteous and patient in responding to queries, gave some reasons for not providing us with the list, the reasons that I did't find convincing enough.
Anyways, as I did my graduation from SMVDU, Katra, I was well familiar with KC Residency, its amenities and service standards, and was happy that I was allocated the hotel, that too at special discounted package (room charges+ 3 meals a day) for quarantine guests (The district administration had done well here, offering a win-win situation for all).
We then reached the hotel at around 7:00 PM, were asked to de-board one by one. The hotel staff followed the protocol, did the thermal scanning and we were offered hand sanitizer before entering the hotel. Then at the reception, we were allocated the rooms. (I have posted the pictures of my room below).
As the title suggests, I returned from Delhi to my hometown Sunderbani, District Rajouri, J&K. I was stuck at Delhi where I had appeared for my Personality Test (Interview) on March 17 for this year's UPSC Civil Services Examination. I planned to return home somewhere around 22/23 March, 2020 after I received the report of my Medical Examination. But, as with several others, my plan could not be realised because of the nationwide Lockdown announced on March 23.
So, after a wait of about 2 months I planned to return home by Train on May 18th. But, on 17th Morning one of my friends sent me a video on WhatsApp where people who had arrived by train were protesting about inadequate facilities in the quarantine center. That prompted me to call my father and finally I cancelled the first 1st AC ticket of my life. The cancellation charges of Rs. 1250/- made me a bit perturbed, and I began regretting the moment I had booked the ticket. But, comparing it with the agony of the stranded migrant laborers, I was convinced that mine was a petty loss.
Then one fine day, on the morning of May 22nd, recovering from the little trauma, I again gathered the courage to book the train ticket for May 29. But, this time I had consulted with one of my friends about the Quarantine facilities and about the time to be spent in those facilities before the test reports would arrive. I was very much convinced that I would definitely travel home this time.
But, as the fate would have it, on 22nd itself, the government announced that the flight operations would also resume from 25th May, and Delhi-Jammu was in the list of approved routes. So again, I got double-minded about the mode of travel that I should opt. Definitely, I didn't want to incur a loss of another 1250/- bucks. So, I kept on convincing myself about the safety of travelling by train. But, this worked only till 25th morning when the flight operations actually started!
I was prompted to book a flight ticket for May 28th, partly due to lower than expected prices and after doing a thorough cost-benefit analysis and comparison of risks of infections through Air or Railways. But, still I decided not to cancel my train ticket until I was sure that I would not require it.
Hereafter, started my efforts towards gathering authentic information about the facilities being provided to travelers in Jammu, about the quarantine facilities, their comparison, and about estimated time that I would have to spend there before being allowed for Home Quarantine.
In this pursuit, I scanned various notifications/circulars/info bulletins published by the J&K administration. I kept an eye on the no. of tests being done per day and the time taken for the reports of those sampled, to arrive. I kept on inquiring (on twitter) about the paid quarantine facilities being provided to different travelers. Luckily, one fine gentleman Mr. Vipan Bhagat (who is a KAS officer posted in Dept of Info and Public Relations (DIPR J&K)) responded to my queries on twitter and provided me with the information I had sought.
Now, I had finally made up my mind to travel by air and opt for paid quarantine facility in Katra (Air travelers are being moved to Katra for paid quarantine). I still didn't cancel my train ticket just to keep another option open in case the flight got cancelled. Finaly, the morning of 28th May arrived.
I finished my packing, and booked an Uber Cab (surprisingly, Ola was not functional in Delhi till that day) to the IGI Airport. My flight was to depart at 14:20 hours. But, I started well in advance to avoid any glitches or last minute rush. Surely, I wanted to cover every remote possibility of missing the flight that day. (My experience of missing the Vandebharat Express in Oct 2019 is altogether a different story that had provided me with the much needed lessons).
I reached the Airport well before 11 am. After completing all formalities, thermal scanning, baggage sanitization etc. I finally waited for the boarding process for my flight to begin. In the meantime, when I was sure that the flight will not be cancelled, I cancelled my Train ticket, and got my first pleasant surprise of the day. Instead of 1250/- rupees the cancellation charges had been slashed by half to about 600/- Rupees. In this way, I happened to cancel my second 1st AC ticket (perhaps will travel some other day)!
Before the boarding process for my flight started, the boarding crew of the airlines distributed a personal safety kit (face shield, surgical mask and hand sanitizer) to all the travelers. They managed the boarding process efficiently ensuring strict Social (read physical) Distancing. The flight finally took-off with a delay of about half an hour but managed to cover the delay significantly by landing at Jammu Airport with only a 15-minutes delay!
Interestingly, while I was seated in the front rows (4th to be precise), I observed that as soon as the flight landed, many of my fellow passengers stood up to de-board, despite repeated announcements by the flight crew requesting them to observe social distancing. I was amazed and perturbed simultaneously wondering if there is a competition to de-board first or if they had announced some attractive prizes for those de-boarding first. Anyways, I learnt another lesson that the mode of travel doesn't necessarily reflect the level of responsibility or wisdom of the citizens/people.
We were received cordially at the Jammu Airport and those charge of affairs again ensured strict compliance to social distancing, and smoothly regulated the flow of passengers to the COVID sampling kiosks specially set up for this purpose. I waited for my turn, got sampled, and was directed out of the building towards a counter where they asked if I wanted paid or free quarantine. I opted for paid quarantine, and was seated in a low-floor SRTC Bus with those who had also opted for the same. We were served water there. Everything went on smoothly until then.
Finally we waited for the bus to be filled (with 20 passengers)-can argue that social distancing was compromised a bit here as well. The Bus departed for Katra at around 5:00 PM. Till now, we had no idea about the options of hotels available at Katra. I tried to inquire regarding the same through twitter, but sadly, no one responded. The fellow passengers (some of them came to know about quarantine in Katra there only) seemed bit agitated about the lack of clarity. Some of them were coming from Pune, Maharashtra and explained about how they had been travelling for the past more than 12 hours. In fact, even the bus driver had no clue about where in Katra were we being taken to.
(Here the administration could have done well by providing information and clarity at the Jammu Airport itself).
Anyways, our Bus was being escorted by one Special Operations Group (SOG) vehicle of J&K Police. Everything was fine until we reached the boundaries of District Reasi (from Jammu District). Here, at the entry check-post, being manned by a team of police personnel led by a young Sub-Inspector, stopped our Bus, asked the driver to come down and furnish the details of the Bus and route etc. Here, I found this exercise to be unnecessary, because of a few reasons. One, that our Bus was a part of the fleet arranged by the government. Second, there must have been buses moving on earlier instances as well. Third, our bus was escorted by police itself who could have provided the necessary info. I observed a lack of coordination between the police of two adjacent districts of the same state.
Here, I wondered and was perhaps a bit convinced that the ego issues being portrayed among different police personnel/stations/districts/states in online tele-series (Delhi Crime@Netflix; Paatal Lok@Amazon etc.) are largely real!
After, 'wasting' more than 15 minutes at the check-post, our Bus started its onward journey to be stopped again for a while at the next check-post (making my fellow passengers more restless and agitated). Meanwhile, I kept on refreshing my twitter feed hoping to get some information regarding the hotels where we would be accommodated-but no one responded. I was also busy in attending phones from my family and relatives inquiring about the future course, and naturally didn't feel much restlessness then because of being "preoccupied". Plus, this was an altogether new experience for me, which would help me write an elaborate blog-post later!!
In a few minutes, we reached our next halting station at the SMVD Shrine Board Spiritual Growth Centre- turned reception centre. Here we were asked to de-board the bus one by one, and then "allocated" a hotel. I was allocated Hotel KC Residency, Katra (in fact each one of us was allocated the same hotel). I tried to inquire with a lady in-charge of the operations there, about the list of the hotels that the people could chose from. The lady, though courteous and patient in responding to queries, gave some reasons for not providing us with the list, the reasons that I did't find convincing enough.
Anyways, as I did my graduation from SMVDU, Katra, I was well familiar with KC Residency, its amenities and service standards, and was happy that I was allocated the hotel, that too at special discounted package (room charges+ 3 meals a day) for quarantine guests (The district administration had done well here, offering a win-win situation for all).
We then reached the hotel at around 7:00 PM, were asked to de-board one by one. The hotel staff followed the protocol, did the thermal scanning and we were offered hand sanitizer before entering the hotel. Then at the reception, we were allocated the rooms. (I have posted the pictures of my room below).
 |
| View of Hotel KCR gallery. |
 |
| My Room 1 (KCR) |
 |
| My Room 2 (KCR) |
 |
| My Room 3 (KCR) |
The next day was a pleasant experience at the hotel, despite we being confined to our rooms. We had the luxury of semi-high speed Wifi access. We were served meals in our rooms by a courteous staff who were wearing PPE kits as a precaution. It appeared that the District Administration Reasi had chalked down the plan and the Menu for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner, the meals were simple, tasty and wholesome. Plus, room service on request was always available. I also got the opportunity of reliving my graduation days, enjoying the beauty of Trikuta Hills, and the illuminated yatra path to the famous shrine of Mata Vaishno Devi.
I was informed about the status of my test report (thankfully negative - in fact all of my fellow travelers had tested negative) on the evening of 29th May, and was asked to arrange for convenience to my home for next morning. I received, the hard copy of the report on 30th Morning, checked-out of the hotel joining my cousins who had come all the way from Sunderbani to take me back home.
In next hour or so, we entered the boundaries of our home-district (Rajouri). After completing the formalities, I was advised Home-Quarantine (as per protocol), which I have been following, thus giving me the opportunity to write this lengthier blog-post, while being in quarantine at home.
So, in a nutshell, my experience was largely pleasant (fresh for sure). Barring the few lapses that I have pointed above, everything went on smoothly. You may judge me as the one over-blowing even minor lapses, but I do wish and aspire for an administrative system that is proactive in information dissemination, receiving feedback in good spirit and striving to improve every single day.
If you have reached here, I want to heartily thank you for sparing your valuable time reading my experience of homecoming! Please feel free to add to valuable thoughts, comments and reviews to help in improve further.
Wishing you all the best of Health!
 |
| Night view of Vaishno Devi from my room. |
I was informed about the status of my test report (thankfully negative - in fact all of my fellow travelers had tested negative) on the evening of 29th May, and was asked to arrange for convenience to my home for next morning. I received, the hard copy of the report on 30th Morning, checked-out of the hotel joining my cousins who had come all the way from Sunderbani to take me back home.
 |
| We the Cousins! |
In next hour or so, we entered the boundaries of our home-district (Rajouri). After completing the formalities, I was advised Home-Quarantine (as per protocol), which I have been following, thus giving me the opportunity to write this lengthier blog-post, while being in quarantine at home.
So, in a nutshell, my experience was largely pleasant (fresh for sure). Barring the few lapses that I have pointed above, everything went on smoothly. You may judge me as the one over-blowing even minor lapses, but I do wish and aspire for an administrative system that is proactive in information dissemination, receiving feedback in good spirit and striving to improve every single day.
If you have reached here, I want to heartily thank you for sparing your valuable time reading my experience of homecoming! Please feel free to add to valuable thoughts, comments and reviews to help in improve further.
Wishing you all the best of Health!
Glad to know you reached your home safely.
ReplyDeleteYou displayed lots of courage in travelling and knowledge in seeking quarantine procedures.
Stay safe. Always be happy. And happy sunday.
Thank you so much Rishab.. Happy Sunday to you too!
DeleteHappy to hear you reached safely. Loved your blog brother, you have done very narrow scrutiny.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your wishes and compliments. Glad you liked it.
Delete