Badhal residents held protest at observation center to return to their homes ; Decision for their return only after final reports from forensic labs and SIT: DC

GNS ONLINE NEWS PORTAL

SHYAM SOOD

**Decision for their return only after final reports from forensic labs and SIT: DC.

**For their return administration have to follow the existing protocol: DC

RAJOURI FEB 06:-Residents of Panchayat-B of Badhal area who wete shifted to isolation facilities at Boys Model Govt Higher Secondary School (BMGHSS) held a protest in the campus on Thursday morning (February 6) demanding to return to their homes.
Following 17 deaths in Badhal village due to unidentified illness, including 13 children, and more than 35 treated in various hospitals at Rajouri, Jammu and Chandigarh, district administration Rajouri had shifted the close contacts of affected families to observation centers at Rajouri.
They raised slogans against their isolation and against district administration for keeping them in observation centers even though they are healthy and none among them fell sick due to unidentified illness that had claimed 17 lives of three families, including 13 children.
They alleged that their stay in observation centers in Rajouri has badly upset their routine domestic life, studies of their children, their unattended livestock and household belongings etc.
“We have lost 17 people to suspicious illness, our livestock suffering due to water & food and now we have been forced to abandon our homes” said Badhal residents.
In the wake of regular deaths and similar symptoms to many others, including about 13 still under observation in different hospitals, higher authorities decided to move affected families, their close contacts/ neighbours to observation centers at Nursing College, BMGHSS and isolation wards in GMC Rajouri.
After 23 January 384 individuals from 87 families were shifted to these centers by the administration as a precautionary measure after a report of a Lucknow based laboratory that the tragedy happened due to suspicions of a toxin contaminating the local food chain.
On getting information about the protest, senior officers rushed to the spot and assured the affected villagers to resolve the crises while maintaining containment protocols in the area.
It is pertinent to mention here that after the deaths of 17 people several central teams of experts, including from AIIMS New Delhi; PGIMER Chandigarh, Inter-Ministerial team constituted by the Home Minister, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) etc have visited Badhal area and collected samples to identify the cause of illness.
But to date, the authorities are not clear about the cause/source of toxin that caused deaths and unidentified illness as the final report from the Forensic laboratory is still awaited.
Even the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has ruled out infectious agents as the cause, shifting the focus of the investigation to potential toxins.
The district authorities under the supervision of DC Rajouri, Abhishek Shrma have made necessary arrangements in the Badhal area to look after the livestock and homes of those who have been shifted to observation centers.
The authorities have also constituted SIT to investigate the Badhal deaths to explore another angle and SIT report is also awaited.
Deputy Commissioner Rajouri Abhishek Sharma said that under existing protocol, as the Badhal area has been declared a containment zone, it will take a few more days to shift these peoples to their homes from Rajouri.
“The administration is aware about their home sickness, their concern about livestock and abandoned homes. But our priority is the safety of their lives, to ensure better preventive care and close monitoring of their health,” said the DC.
“The final decision for the return of these people will be taken only after the final report about the poisonous substance is received from forensic laboratories. Moreover, the decision also depends on the report of police investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT),” he added.
The long delay of the final report from forensic laboratories, and the reports prepared by the central teams who visited the Badhal area in December & January and lack of regular briefing by the administration has caused fear among the residents of Badhal.