J&K govt declares Badhaal Village as containment Zone

Four more people hospitalised, three referred to Jammu after their condition deteriorated

- Ravi Krishnan Khajuria

JAMMU: The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday declared the remote Badhaal village in Rajouri district a containment zone and imposed prohibitory orders on all public and private gatherings in the wake of the death of 16 people, including 13 children, belonging to three families in the last seven weeks, officials said.

The development comes even as an inter-ministerial team set up by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) continued its probe to ascertain the cause of the deaths in the village.

Four more people were hospitalised on Wednesday with similar symptoms. The fresh measures were taken after chief minister Omar Abdullah visited the village on Tuesday.

"Badhaal has been declared a containment zone. Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) has been imposed by the district magistrate (Rajouri) Rajeev Kumar Khajuria. Houses of affected families have been sealed," a government official said.

Section 163 of BNSS gives magistrates the power to issue written orders in urgent situations and restrict gathering of more than four people at a place.

According to the order, the village has been divided into three containment zones -- the first covering all families where deaths have occurred.