Badhaal under lockdown

Rajouri, Jan 22: To contain the spread of a mysterious illness among villagers, the authorities have imposed restrictions in Badhaal village of Rajouri district, by declaring the entire area as a containment zone.

These restrictions have been imposed by district administration under BNSS 163 (earlier 144 CrPC).

Officials said, “These restrictions have been broadly divided into three types that include establishment of containment zones; prohibition on gathering and scaling up the water and food being served to affected families and their contacts.”

The entire village has been in the news since last one and half month after 17 mysterious deaths while health experts and other agencies have not been able to find the cause behind these deaths.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also visited the area on Tuesday and reviewed the progress of investigation to find the reason behind these deaths.

On Wednesday, district administration Rajouri ordered restrictions in this village under BNSS 163 declaring the entire area as a containment zone.

The village has been sub divided into three containment zones that include - Containment zone I where families, which have lost loved ones to the mysterious illness, are located while Containment zone II is for immediate contacts of the victim families.

In Containment zone 3 falls the general village area.

Along with it, strong restrictions have been placed on holding any gathering in the area.

“All the public and private gatherings are hereby prohibited within the jurisdiction of these contained zones,” officials said, while quoting the order notifying restrictions.

The administration has also decided to increase surveillance of all kinds of eatables being used by the affected families as well as other villagers in the area.

The team of officials deputed earlier has been asked to scale up surveillance.

To enforce the restrictions, additional manpower from police and paramilitary forces has been deployed throughout the village while the health staff has also been stationed there to monitor the situation.

Outside movement has been barred, effectively putting the village under lockdown, officials stated.