A day after the District Administration in Rajouri declared the remote Badhaal village as a 'containment zone,' ruling party MLA from the Budhal Assembly segment, Javed Iqbal Choudhary, on Thursday alleged that critically ill patients are suffering due to a 'dual power centre' and a lack of coordination between different agencies on the ground.
The National Conference MLA claimed that the samples collected by the central teams from the remote Badhaal village are yet to be transported out of Rajouri to their final destinations in Pune, Lucknow, and New Delhi. He also demanded a permanent arrangement for HeliTaxi services in either Jammu or Rajouri to shift critically ill patients without wasting precious time.
Raising the issue of shifting three sisters from GMC Jammu to PGI Chandigarh, the National Conference MLA alleged that despite airlifting the three siblings from Rajouri via a special flight arranged by the office of the Divisional Commissioner Jammu, the office of GMC Principal failed to make the necessary arrangements in time to shift them to PGI Chandigarh late Wednesday evening. He demanded a high-level probe to determine who prevented the timely shifting of patients with severe symptoms of a 'mysterious disease.' So far, 17 villagers, including 13 children, have died due to the mysterious illness in the remote Badhaal village of Rajouri.
Meanwhile, the district authorities on Thursday shifted around 200 villagers from the containment zone in Badhaal to an isolation ward at GMC Rajouri. An 11-year-old patient identified as Saima Kousar, with similar symptoms, was also admitted to GMC Rajouri on Thursday evening. Medical Superintendent of GMC Rajouri, Dr. Shamim Choudhary, said that doctors are currently assessing her health condition. "We will start treatment after the team of doctors thoroughly examines her and monitors her," he said.
In another related development, Principal of GMC Jammu, Dr. Ashutosh Gupta, responded to the allegations of NC MLA Javed Iqbal Choudhary, claiming that the patients could not be shifted to PGI Chandigarh late Wednesday night because PGIMER administration conveyed their inability to accept the children due to the unavailability of beds.
In a written statement issued on Thursday, Dr. Ashutosh Gupta stated that GMC Jammu was informed about the airlifting of three children with signs and symptoms of the mysterious illness from GMC Rajouri to GMC Jammu at approximately 6:30 PM. The authorities were also notified about the availability of beds at PGIMER Chandigarh.
Dr. Gupta further added, "The GMC Jammu authorities immediately readied fully equipped critical care ambulances and dispatched them to the technical airport in Jammu for the immediate transfer of these patients to PGIMER Chandigarh by road."