Ban on sale of soft drinks company’s products manufactured after June 20
Two positives escape, quarantine centre ransacked
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, July 9: A young National Conference leader died of Coronavirus here today while a police constable was killed when he fell into a nullah on his way to Udhampur from Panchairi for re-sampling after testing positive for the virus even as 58 persons including 14 security personnel tested positive in Jammu region. Two persons who reported Corona positive today escaped from quarantine centre at Vijaypur in Samba district on July 6 and remained untraced so far.
Government Medical College (GMC) Jammu Medical Superintendent Dr Dara Singh told the Excelsior that 38-year-old Youth National Conference leader from Gole Gujral was admitted in the hospital on July 7 with high fever and cough after being bitten by hornet. He was sampled for COVID yesterday and tested positive this afternoon. He died at 7.15 pm.
Dr Singh said body of COVID victim is being packed as per the protocol and will be kept in the mortuary of the GMC tonight for cremation tomorrow.
The patient had no co-morbidity, he said.
However, he had reported to the hospital after being bitten by hornet and had high fever and cough.
With this, total number of Corona deaths in Jammu region have gone up to 15 including nine in Jammu district, two in Doda and one each in Kathua, Poonch, Rajouri and Udhampur.
National Conference president Dr Farooq Abdullah has described death of young National Conference leader as great loss to the party.
Soon after the Youth NC leader’s death, party vice president and former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted: “Sadly we lost Rohit a few minutes ago. He had been put on a ventilator but the Medical teams, in spite of their best efforts, couldn’t stabilize him. He leaves behind a wife and two young kids. May his soul rest in peace #Covid-19 kills. Taking it lightly is suicidal”.
A constable of Indian Reserve Police (IRP) 6th battalion who had come to his house on leave at village Damnote Mongri in Panchairi area of Udhampur district from Srinagar tested positive for the virus this morning.
On getting message of positive report on his telephone, he headed towards Udhampur for re-sampling but fell into Dubi Gali Nullah and died.
Police teams headed by Additional SP Udhampur Rajinder Katoch rushed to the spot and shifted the constable to hospital where he was declared as dead. Body will be handed over to the family after post-mortem following due protocol for COVID patients, Katoch said.
Meanwhile, an ambulance driver of Sub District Hospital (SDH) Marh, a police Head Constable of Barnai with travel history of Srinagar and another police constable from Sopore, tested positive for COVID-19 in Jammu district. The constables had returned to duty after visiting homes on leave. Another man from Srinagar, who had come here for admission of her daughter in coaching centre and was putting up in a Paying Guest House at Pacca Danga in heart of the City, has also tested positive for the virus.
Other positive cases of Jammu district include 26-year-old woman from Paloura with travel history of New Delhi, 50-year-old man from Faridabad, 48-year-old woman from RS Pura, 32-year-old from Akhnoor, 38-year-old male from Preet Nagar, 44-year-old from Barnai, 30-year-old from Bantalab with travel history of Kerala, 10-year-old girl and 50-year-old man from Laswara.
Eleven persons tested positive in Samba district today including a 32-year-old woman from Purmandal, who had delivered baby at SMGS Hospital on July 7. She was presently staying at her home at village Jaswal. A 13-year-old boy, who happened to be son of an Army soldier hailing from village Jallo Chak in Bari Brahmana has also tested positive. He had returned from Shimla along with others.
Two persons aged 20 and 42, who tested positive today in Samba, had escaped from Thandi Khui quarantine centre after sampling on July 6 and remained untraced so far. Their address was also not complete and authorities were making efforts to trace them. Other positives of Samba were travelers, SSP Samba Shakti Pathak said.
Sumb market in Samba was contained this morning after a Corona positive case was reported last night.
Meanwhile, inmates at Radha Swami Satsang Ghar Thandi Khui which has been converted into quarantine centre protested for overcrowding, poor quality of food and delay in testing by civil and health authorities and ransacked furniture and other items inside the centre.
Inmates of the Thandi Khui quarantine centre said more than triple the capacity of people were lodged at the centre and some of them were kept there till July 2 and 3 but their samples for COVID testing were yet to be taken by the authorities. They said extreme poor quality of food is being supplied to them and sometimes they don’t get food at all.
This was for the second time that inmates at Thandi Khui quarantine centre have protested against the civil and health authorities.
Today, the inmates went on rampage and ransacked furniture including chairs, tables etc at the centre while shouting slogans against civil administration and health authorities for treating them like animals and taking no care of them.
Sources said some of the inmates were lodged there since July 2 and 3 but still their samples hadn’t been taken for COVID testing notwithstanding the Government direction that the returnees should be sampled the same day to reduce their time in the quarantine centres. They said sometimes food is not at all supplied at the centre while on many occasions it is of extreme poor quality and not fit for even animals what to say of human beings.
Later, Deputy Commissioner Samba Rohit Khajuria and SSP Samba Shakti Pathak visited the spot to assess the facilities at the quarantine centre.
The district Samba administration has written to authorities of all 20 districts in Jammu and Kashmir to ensure ban on sale of all products manufactured by a soft drinks company at Bari Barhmana from June 20 onwards.
The order comes in the wake of 36 employees of the soft drinks company testing positive for COVID-19. The company’s unit at Bari Brahmana has already been contained.
Soft drinks and packaged water were being manufactured by the company at Bari Brahmana.
“District administration across Jammu and Kashmir has been alerted and asked to keep strict surveillance on soft drinks and packaged water manufactured since June 20,” sources said,
For the third consecutive day, Rajouri district continued to witness surge in Coronavirus cases with 18 more persons testing positive today. A total of 61 persons have tested COVID positive in the district during last three days.
SSP Rajouri Chandan Kohli said three women from Red Zone Pateli village in Budhal tehsil aged 18, 20 and 35 besides two BSF jawans, who had returned from Bihar for duty in Rajouri were among those who tested positive for COVID-19.
A GMC Rajouri staffer aged 27 and resident of Rajouri City with travel history of Chandigarh and a 15-year-old boy from Ward No. 10, who was contact of a positive person, have also testing positive for the virus. Rest of the positives were travelers including two who had returned from Kuwait and were under administrative quarantine, Kohli said.
Five Army soldiers reported Corona positive in Poonch district today. All of them were under quarantine at 37 Rashtriya Rifles headquarters at Chatral.
Three persons including two CRPF personnel and a returnee of Kyrgyzstan hailing from village Ghat today tested Corona positive in Doda district.
While the CRPF personnel were under quarantine at their formation, the traveler was under administrative quarantine.
Four persons have tested positive in Kathua district.
They include one each CRPF and ITBP personnel and two travelers having returned from Hyderabad and New Delhi. The four positives hailed from Lakhanpur, Dayalachak, Hiranagar and Jarai, District Magistrate Kathua OP Bhagat said.
He added that 2284 persons today entered Jammu and Kashmir from Lakhanpur during last 24 hours.
Four persons, three civilian travelers and a police constable, tested positive for the virus in Kishtwar district today.
Reasi and Ramban districts didn’t report any Corona positive cases today.
Meanwhile, 54 persons were today treated for the virus and discharged from various COVID hospitals in Jammu region including maximum 29 in Udhampur followed by 15 in Rajouri.
Four persons were discharged in Samba district, two each in Doda and Ramban and one each in Jammu and Kathua districts.
As per official figures, Jammu region has 1997 Corona positive cases including 564 active. As many as 1419 Corona patients have been treated and discharged.
Meanwhile, eight more persons today tested positive for COVID-19 in the Union Territory of Ladakh taking total number of Corona patients to 1055 including 341 in Leh and 714 in Kargil and active cases to 139— 93 Leh and 46 Kargil.
As many as 915 Corona patients have been treated in Ladakh. They include 247 in Leh and 668 in Kargil while there has been one Corona casualty.
Of total positive cases in Ladakh, nine have been admitted in COVID hospital, 129 were in home isolation and one in COVID Care Centre.
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