Nagpur, Pune airports have scanners to detect Ebola: Centre

Mumbai, Sept 25: The Union Government informed the Bombay High Court on Thursday that it has provided thermal image scanners at Nagpur and Pune airports to screen passengers from African countries for possible Ebola infection.

Scanners were shifted from Hyderabad and Goa airports to Nagpur and Pune airports, counsel for the Central Government Rui Rodrigues told a Bombay High Court bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka.

These scanners would be functional within a week, the government said, after which the Court asked the Centre to file a compliance report on October 1.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by former journalist Ketan Tirodkar alleging that India is not fully equipped to prevent the spread of the dreaded epidemic.

Early this month, the High Court had asked the Maharashtra state government to provide medical screening facilities at Pune and Nagpur airports, on the lines of such facilities in Mumbai and Delhi.

The Maharashtra government had said in an affidavit that the Centre had not provided scanners for Nagpur and Pune.

The High Court then asked the Centre to provide the equipment as soon as possible.

The Central Government counsel said that "adequate" screening measures were in place at ports and airports.

Tirodkar's PIL had alleged that several Indians or NRIs in Africa were returning due to the outbreak of Ebola in the continent, but there are no facilities either to detect or treat the epidemic in India.

PTI