Mystery persists over deaths at Jammu village as more residents land up in hospital

According to authorities, one of the four victims, Aijaz Ahmed, was brought into GMC Tuesday while the siblings – sisters – were hospitalised Wednesday.

Aijaz has now been sent to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, official source said.

Meanwhile, what has caused the deaths is still unclear – while The Indian Express reported Tuesday that an inter-ministerial team and experts from the Chemicals and Fertilizers Ministry put down the deaths to pesticide contamination in a nearby baoli (water reservoir),  local authorities have yet to establish a direct link between the water and the deaths.

Significantly, the deaths have been from three families, all of whom are related.

In a bid to prevent any spread of “infection”, the UT administration has ordered ‘Containment zones’ in the area. An order from Rajouri’s Additional District Magistrate Rajeev Kumar Khajuria shows that “Containment Zone 1” comprises the affected families whose houses have now been sealed to outsiders, with only designated officials authorising entry.

“Containment Zone 2” is for the families identified as close contacts of the affected individuals, with the administration seeking the “immediate shifting of individuals from these families to GMC Rajouri” and mandatory and “continuous health monitoring”.  “Containment Zone 3” comprises all other households of Baddal village.

Over two dozen individuals from Baddal have been admitted to isolation wards set up at Rajouri’s GMC for “continuous health monitoring”.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to prevent any more “infections”, the district administration is distributing food items and water packets three times a day, the sources said. The village also has round-the-clock police deployment, with designated officers maintaining logs of food distribution and consumption thrice a day.

“The district administration has also prohibited all public and private gatherings within the containment zones,” one source added.

This comes a day after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah visited Baddal to assure village residents that the Rajouri civil administration was “actively addressing the matter”.

“Additionally, a central team has been deputed and is working diligently to uncover the reasons behind this unfortunate loss of life,” he said.