Kuwait Returnees Cry Foul Over Food Quality at Quarantine Centre

Jeddah: NRIs who returned to Hyderabad as part of Mission Vande Bharat evacuation programme from Kuwait and quarantined in a star hotel in the city have complained about inadequate and poor quality food being provided to them.

Most NRIs and other returnees to Hyderabad opted for paid quarantine at five-star hotels paying Rs 30,000 with the hope that good quality boarding and lodging facilities would be extended to them during their quarantine period. Pregnant women, sick and children along with mothers were repatriated from Kuwait amid the coronavirus pandemic as part of Mission Vande Bharat.

Some pregnant women, however, complained that they were not being served proper food by the service providers. They also shared some images of food with their relatives. Despite such complaints, the Gulf returnees endorsed the government’s restrictions and preventive measures meant to keep Telangana safe.

They said that a hotel where they were lodged was not providing enough quantity of food and that it was not even enough to feed a child leave alone an adult. They complained about the very high charges for extra orders.“I disclosed that I am four-month pregnant before boarding in Kuwait, but I was given only a small cup of rice and two slices of bread,” says Sri Laxmi Prasanna, hailing from Kukatpally.

“Since the quantity is not enough and the quality is also not up to mark, I ordered for two pieces of fruit for which I was charged Rs 540,” she told Telangana Today over phone. She said: “If I keep ordering for extra food every time for 14 days, I will run up an additional bill of Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000.” “I was not aware that there would be hidden charges in institutional quarantine,” says Shafia Ali, who has a one-and-a-half-year-old son.

Hailing from Old City, Shafia had gone to Kuwait on a visit visa which expired in March and she returned by the first flight to Hyderabad.“I was given only a small cup of rice and two rotis with some curry,” she said.

She was, however, optimistic that the situation would improve in a day or two. “If I was aware about the quality and quantity of food in a five-star hotel of this level, then I would have opted for government quarantine which would have been free,”

Rachakonda Narendar of Karimnagar, who is also lodged in the same hotel, quipped. He believes the food issue would be sorted out gradually.