Sub-standard rice was given to people staying at Trishakti Quarantine in Bajura.

A teacher, who is also staying in the same quarantine, said low quality date expired rice had been distributed at the quarantine for the last 12 days.

Dinesh Joshi, another person in the quarantine, said two to three persons had vomited after consuming meals. He said the rice had turned black while cooking. Joshi added they had received the rice when they came to the quarantine.

“We did not check the date on the same day that we received the rice. The date was checked when some friends vomited after eating meals,” he said. He informed that the date on the sack was corrected with a marker.

Chairperson of Ward No 9, Budhiganga Municipality, Bharat Thapa said the rice was sub-standard. He said they had not checked the date when they bought the rice from Sunil Baniya. He added new rice was brought after exchanging the distributed stock. Thapa said Baniya had bought the rice from Man Bahadur Dhami of Betalmandau.

Mayor Dipak Bikram Sha said the rice was outdated. He said action would be taken against black- marketers.

Chief District Officer Ganga Prasad Neupane said he was unaware about the incident. No quarantine has been inspected in Bajura. There are 239 suspects staying in 18 quarantines, which lack proper management.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on May 1, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.