Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, May 23

Covid has been affecting the remotest of areas in Himachal Pradesh, with tribal Chotta Bhangal region in the higher reaches of Kangra district reporting an alarming 40 per cent positivity rate.

Of the 90 samples collected from the area, 37 have tested positive, a development that has the local administration worried. Nestled near the Dhauladhar range in the Himalayas, Chotta Bhangal has poor road connectivity and people from various habitats have to walk a considerable distance to reach the main road.

Locals blame power project staff

Claiming they hardly moved out of the area, Chotta Bhangal residents alleged the “outsider” labourers employed at local power projects were responsible for the spread of Covid. The authorities, however, blamed the weddings.

Kangra Deputy Commissioner Rakesh Prajapati said though infections had been controlled in urban areas, instances like Chotta Bhangal were a cause for concern. “Efforts are being made to keep people in rural belts safe and encourage them to report infections early,” he said.

Akshay Jasrotia, a social worker, said Chotta Bhangal had a population of about 12,000. A high infection rate was earlier reported in Chotta Bhangal’s Landag, having a population of 5,000. “The villagers initially didn’t report Covid cases to the authorities, but their outlook changed after three persons succumbed to the virus,” he said.

Jasrotia said an issue of concern was that shepherds were nowadays moving with their flock of sheep to Bara Bhangal valley, an area at a higher altitude and inaccessible by road. “In case the virus reaches Bara Bhangal, healthcare will have to be provided only though a helicopter,” he said, demanding the shepherds be tested before they moved higher into the mountains.

Kangra Chief Medical Officer Dr GD Gupta said initially the entire staff of the Chotta Bhangal Primary Health Centre had tested positive. “The affected employees have been shifted out. Two mobile teams have been deployed to control the situation,” he said.

Dr Gupta said instructions had been issued that all shepherds be tested before they ventured into the mountains with their livestock.