Coronavirus In Heritage Company: 34 Employees Sent For Quarantine

UPPAL: After receiving complaints from local residents in Uppal, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials on Wednesday inspected the Uppal depot of Heritage Foods Private Limited and shifted 34 employees to quarantine centres in the midst of high coronavirus fears. These workers were said to have come in contact with the security personnel of the company who allegedly tested positive for COVID-19. Heritage Foods Private Limited is a dairy business owned and controlled by the family of Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu.

GHMC officials were also questioning the company officials over allegations of forcing its workforce to attend to their duties even after the alleged COVID-19 case was detected. The GHMC authorities stated that strict action would be initiated against the company if they were found to have violated lockdown norms. The Uppal Heritage episode has sent shockwaves across the two Telugu states as it is nothing but risking the health and lives of thousands of people in the state. The 34 employees of the dairy products company, who allegedly came in contact with the COVID-19 infected security guard, pose the biggest risk of transmitting the disease to many more thousands of people and also through millions of packets of milk and dairy products.

It is reported that, after one of the Heritage Foods Private Limited Company's Uppal Depot security guard tested positive for COVID-19, State medical officials have stamped seven other security guard. They ordered them to follow home quarantine for a mandatory period of 28 days. But the Company has allegedly kept the developments under tight wraps and even used intimidating tactics to allegedly force them to attend their duties. As the residents of the depot’s neighbourhood came to know of this, it triggered a panic wave, prompting them to demand the company to close down the depot.

Despite this, all the seven quarantine-stamped security guards continued to work in the company violating the government norms of home isolation and were also freely roaming in the locality in the Laxmi Narayana Colony of Uppal. Noticing this, the residents expressed their anger and demanded the Heritage management to stop all its production and other operations immediately.

Uppal MLA Responds To The Heritage Controversy

Following the Coronavirus controversy, Uppal MLA Bethi Subhas Reddy on Wednesday inspected the company and came down heavily on the company management besides TDP chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu for their negligence and irresponsible behavior. He questioned as to how the company had allowed personnel destined for home quarantine to attend duties in the company, which, he said, is a gross violation of lockdown rules.

He assured people that immediate action would be taken against the company after coordinating with all departments of the state. The legislator instructed the GHMC commissioner, Revenue officials and police officials to take quick action against the company. Subhas Reddy further said that people who came in contact with these 34 members will also be tested for COVID-19.

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