Villagers hound family with 27 patients, cut TMC power

Jharsuguda: A joint family of 27 members faced a harrowing time at the hands of villagers after they tested positive for Covid-19. The situation came to such a state that the administration had to intervene after villagers, unwilling to let them stay at the temporary medical centre, laid siege, cut the electricity line to the centre and stopped supply of food for those inside for fear they might also catch the virus.
The incident took place at Parmanpur under Kolabira block in Jharsuguda district. The family members belong to Raghunathpalli, under the same block.
Among the 27-member family are 8 children, the youngest being two-year old. Out of them, 19 have recovered while a 74-year-old male member have died due to the virus. The rest are undergoing treatment.
Narrating their ordeal, one of the members said, “On July 27, me and my elder brother were taken the temporary centre at Parmanpur where we were joined by 17 of our family members who had recovered from Covid-19.” The same evening villagers of Parmanpur and neighbouring places under Kolabira block gathered outside the centre and demanded that they leave. “The protest got so aggressive that the villagers disconnected the power supply to the centre and stopped food being served to us. We went hungry for more than 8 hours. There were children who also faced the brunt of the protest. What wrong had the children done?” the person asked. But the villagers were in no mood to listen. “It was only after the district administration assured the villagers that we will be moved to home quarantine, a day later, that the locals relented,” the person said.
Once back in Raghunathpalli village, the family members faced protest from the locals, who wanted them to stay away from the village. “It was only after all of us, including the children, signed an undertaking that we won’t step out of our house for 12 days that we were allowed to enter our home,” said the person. “I fear this persecution might continue even after the end of the 12-day isolation period. It has been mentally taxing for us. I just pray that this doesn’t happen to anyone. I would also request the state government to sensitise villagers against this type of social discrimination,” the person added. Jharsuguda district collector Saroj Kumar Samal said, “Local people have unnecessarily developed fear of COVID, We are reaching out to the people and making them understand that there is no fear if a Covid patient has been discharged and is living in home isolation.”
He added that what happened in Parmanpur should not be repeated and said the administration took care not to get swayed by the protests.