Jammu: Health Minister Sakeena Masood Itoo on Sunday said a probe into the recent mysterious deaths of seven persons at a remote village in Rajouri district is yet to reach any conclusion.
Seven persons — a man and his four children, and two siblings of another couple — died at Badhaal village in two separate incidents on December 8 and 12, with officials initially suspecting food poisoning as the cause of their mysterious deaths.
Itoo and Minister for Jal Shakti, Forest, Ecology & Environment, and Tribal Affairs, Javed Ahmed Rana visited Sub-Division Kotranka to review the situation and assess the measures being undertaken.
The Ministers chaired a detailed review meeting regarding the matter which was attended by senior officers including Secretary, Health & Medical Education, Dr. Syed Abid Rasheed Shah.
Sakeena Itoo emphasized the urgency of strengthening health systems and enforcing social distancing, expediting results from forensic laboratories, directing the Food & Supplies Department to collect and test additional samples and Animal Husbandry Department to collect and test milk samples. In addition, she directed to ensure a team of doctors remains stationed in Kotranka besides establishing an MRI facility at Kotranka for improved diagnostic capabilities.
Javed Rana stressed the importance of conducting water quality testing in adjacent areas by the water quality monitoring team. In addition, he announced two mobile medical units (MMU’s) for Rajouri and Poonch districts, with each costing around Rs 1 crore from Tribal Affairs department. These MMUs would be equipped with basic medical equipment and staffed by healthcare professionals. These have been designed to provide a range of healthcare services, including preventive care, diagnostics and treatment of common illnesses.
Further, he also directed the Forest officials to prepare and submit a DPR for water conservation through construction of check dams to address long-term water management issues.
Furthermore, a central team comprising experts from NCDC, PGIMER Chandigarh, and ICMR is enroute Rajouri to assist in the investigation and provide technical support for tackling the unknown illness.
Both the Ministers reiterated the Government’s unwavering commitment towards ensuring all necessary facilities and support for the affected families and communities.
MLA Budhal, Javed Iqbal Choudhary, appreciated the efforts of the district administration.
Secretary Health briefed the meeting on critical interventions, including deployment of rapid response teams and ensuring availability of logistics, drugs and ambulances and setting up isolation wards at GMC Rajouri, Jammu, and SMGS Hospital.
Earlier, DC Rajouri, Abhishek Sharma, provided an extensive presentation outlining the timeline of events, spot maps, objectives, and case definitions. He highlighted efforts in passive and active surveillance, data collection, laboratory investigations, autopsies, environmental inquiries and descriptive epidemiology. Till date, 3,145 individuals have been surveyed through house-to-house visits and 384 special health camps have been organized in the affected areas.
The meeting was attended by SSP Rajouri, Gaurav Sikarwar, ADDC Rajouri, Dr. Raj Kumar Thapa, Director Health Services Jammu, Dr. Rakesh Mangotra, Principal GMC Rajouri, AS Bhatia, Medical Superintendent Shamim Ahmed, CMO Rajouri, Manohar Rana and other district officers.
Mysterious deaths in Rajouri: Not reached any conclusion yet, says Minister
