Bettiah (Bihar): In a disturbing turn of events, Dhumnagar, a village in Naraktiaganj block in Bettiah of Bihar, has witnessed 20 deaths in the last 20 days.
It is suspected that the deaths were caused by Covid-19, even as the villagers are unwilling to get themselves tested.
The village is more than 42 km from the district headquarters and the lack of a health facility is believed to be the primary reason behind the deaths.
The locals said that many people are ill in the village but they are afraid of getting themselves tested despite having Covid-like symptoms.
The villagers claim that 19 people have died due to 'other health issues', while one person died of Covid-19.
"All the symptoms related to the Covid-19 were also seen among the deceased people. Even after the mysterious deaths, no facilities have been provided in the village from any government levels. Masks are also distributed among a small number of people and till now no village has undergone complete sanitization," said Jeet Narayan Kumar, local.
"Many people were suffering from cold, cough, fever, but they are not going there due to the poor condition of hospitals. More than 20 people have died within the last 20 days," said another local, Rajesh Thakur.
While the locals are complaining that lack of testing and ignorance of people are the reasons behind the recent deaths, Satish Kumar, the BDO has maintained that the administration is making all the efforts to help the people in these testing times.
