Although no new case of mysterious illness has been reported from Badhaal village of Jammu and Kashmir's border district of Rajouri during the last five days, 87 families have been shifted from this ill-fated hamlet to Rajouri as a precautionary measure.
According to the official spokesperson of the J&K government, showing encouraging mitigation signs, no new illness case has been reported among the residents of the health crisis-hit village Badhaal since January 24.
Seventeen persons, including 13 children, died during the last two months in this village due to a mysterious disease.
To mitigate the situation and prevent further casualties, 87 families comprising 364 individuals were shifted from Badhaal to Rajouri. These families are currently housed at Government Nursing College, Government Boys Higher Secondary School, and Government Medical College Rajouri and are under observation. Comprehensive arrangements have been made to ensure the comfort and safety of the affected families.
Families are being provided with meals, water, baby food, sanitary items, medicines, clothing, and other daily necessities under the close monitoring of the doctors and district administration.
For the comfortable stay of the families, the district administration has provided 240 beds, 490 blankets, and 303 mattresses, while keeping 176 beds, 300 blankets, and 240 mattresses reserved.
An on-site medical team, comprising three doctors and six paramedics, has been put on duty round the clock. Critical care ambulances are stationed at the venues.
Meals for these families are prepared under CCTV surveillance
Meals are prepared in kitchens under CCTV surveillance, with food samples sent for testing at NFL Ghaziabad and Patoli Food Testing Lab, Jammu.
Anganwadi workers and Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs) are deployed to take care of children under six. Temporary schooling arrangements are in place for school-going children.
Craft teachers and ITI instructors are providing training to individuals in tailoring and other trades. Sewing machines have been supplied by the Social Welfare Department.
Officials from the Agriculture, Horticulture and Labour Departments are educating families about government schemes such as PMEGP, Daksh Kissan, e-SHRAM, PMJJBY, and PMSBY.
Badhaal village divided into 14 clusters
To ensure the safety of the remaining 808 households (3,700 individuals) in Badhaal, the village has been divided into 14 clusters monitored by multi-departmental teams of 182 officials. All shops and establishments have been sealed, and ration is being provided under strict supervision. Teams are feeding 424 domestic animals and 168 poultry birds belonging to shifted families.
Daily sampling of food and consumables is underway and 167 blood, urine, and nasal swab samples have been collected for testing at GMC Rajouri.
A control room under the supervision of the Additional District Development Commissioner has been established to coordinate efforts, address public queries, and provide updates to prevent panic.
The District Administration is addressing the situation comprehensively and ensuring the well-being of all affected families.
All patients out of danger, likely to be discharged soon
Dr Shamim Ahmad, Medical Superintendent at Government Medical College (GMC) Rajouri, said that currently, eleven patients admitted last week are under observation at GMC Rajouri.
"All are out of danger. None of them require ventilator support and their discharge will be decided soon after consultations with experts," he said.
