Srinagar, Feb 16: The nightmare may have ended for over 300 families from Badhaal, Rajouri, as they moved back to their tragedy-stricken village weeks after they were isolated for their safety by the government. However, while the last inmates of the government containment facility wait for a green signal, unanswered questions and fears still haunt them.
The closest contacts of the Badhaal families who lost family members in December last year are still in isolation, and the authorities of GMC Srinagar are planning their release over the next two days.
The contacts have been undergoing tests and sampling to rule out any risk to their lives due to a toxin they have been exposed to.
A team of experts from AIIMS New Delhi assisted the GMC Rajouri team in formulating a protocol for the phase-wise release of the people in isolation.
All the residents of Badhaal Rajouri were shifted to various government facilities on January 22, when a fresh cluster of cases emerged in the village, with symptoms similar to the three families that lost members previously.
HoD Community Medicine GMC Rajouri, Dr Syed Shuja Akhtar Qadri said, “The protocol for any such suspicion that involves a toxin or poison is 21 days quarantine.”
The inmates have been directed to report to the team stationed in the village if they suspect any symptoms related to the cases of poisoning.
“A team will also be checking all the villagers up every week,” he said.
The villagers have been educated on the safe handling of pesticides and insecticides by various government departments.
“We have told them how to keep their edibles, water, and stocks safe from the toxins that could prove fatal,” Dr Qadri said.
The 17 deaths in Badhaal were termed mysterious for want of an explanation, while the multiple agencies that carried out microbiological investigations gave their verdicts.
Following deaths in two families, teams from the Indian Council of Medical Research, National Institute of Virology, PGI Chandigarh, and some other institutions carried out extensive sampling to finally conclude that the deaths were not related to any outbreak as feared.
The government had said that no microbe having the potential for an outbreak had been traced in the samples.
For the past 71 days, since the first death took place in the family of Fazal Hussain, the families that suffered subsequently and the entire village have been awaiting answers – what killed the families? Will it happen again in some other family?
Two teams of experts, one from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and one Special Investigation Team (SIT) from the J&K government have been investigating to find the cause of death and angle of foul play, if any. It was assumed, based on some sampling reports of the deceased and environment, that the deaths and symptoms of others who survived were linked to a neurotoxin. The neurotoxins reported to be found spanned over Organophosphates, carbamines, sulfons, chlorfenapyr, and some others.
“Till we know the exact cause of death, we need to focus on precautions,” the doctors who oversaw the stay and sampling of the villagers said.
Early reporting in case of poisoning is very important,” Dr Qadri said. “We have tried to educate the villagers on how to identify symptoms early and how to seek help in time.”
