Village along Mughal Road in Kashmir turns into virus hotspot

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar April 23

The last village to the south of Kashmir along the Mughal road — Heerpora  — has turned into a major infection hotspot as 42 persons have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Home to Kashmir’s largest wildlife sanctuary and having a population of only 800 people, Heerpora has seen a major spike in the coronavirus cases in the past two days. It reported eight positive virus cases on Thursday.

The rising number of the coronavirus cases has created panic among the locals.

“We have never seen people falling sick like this. We are supplied clean drinking water and maintain good hygiene. We would always feel insulated from viral or bacterial infections,” said Sheikh Aijaz, Heerpora sarpanch.

Aijaz said the government should amplify testing to contain the spread of the virus, which according to him, had the potential to infect the whole population in the village.

The village saw the first coronavirus cases on April 8, when four workers of the Tablighi Jamaat, who had returned from Maharashtra, tested positive for the virus.

Since then, the number of coronavirus cases has continued to rise.

“Another spike in cases today, mostly from existing red zone & contacts of those with congregation history, some hid facts & resisted testing. But we have been testing aggressively & maintain our rate. It’s been an extremely taxing month but our team shall continue working tirelessly,” Deputy Commissioner Shopian Yasin Choudhary had tweeted.

Heerpora is one of the 70 localities declared red zones in Kashmir after witnessing more than two virus cases at the same place and time.

The red zones are facing near absolute interruption of movement of people. This is aimed at containing the spread of the virus within a defined geographic area by controlling the movement of people in and out of the zones, early detection of cases, breaking the chain of transmission and preventing its spread.

Officials said of the nine wards of Heepora, located on both sides of the Mughal road, four were hit by the coronavirus.

Zonal Medical Officer, Sedaw, Dr Adil Malik said eight fresh cases had been reported from Heerpora on Thursday.

Explaining the magnitude of the spread of the virus in Heerpora, Malik said in a ward of 32 houses, at least 26 persons were found positive for the coronavirus.

“We have started mass testing in Heerpora to contain the spread of the virus. We have done 100 per cent door-to-door surveillance,” Malik said.

The virus has stuck the village at a time when locals have work in agriculture fields and orchards.

Heerpora was once famous for large production of red skin potato. It would annually produce thousands of quintals of the high-priced potato variety.

As many as 2,100 kanals are under potato cultivation in the village at present.

Locals had to convert some of the land into apple orchards after the potato crop was affected by a fungal infection, decreasing the productivity.