TIRUVANNAMALAI : Haunted by the fear of a curse having befallen on them, rattled residents of Thandarai Colony, which witnessed a mystery fever claiming seven lives in a span of 20 days, have started shunning the local school by sending their children to institutions in nearby villages so as to save them from evil spirits.
As a result, the Panchayat Union Middle School at Thandarai, a sleepy village in Tiruvannamalai district, recorded poor attendance on Tuesday and Wednesday. The total strength of the school came down from 108 to 106 after the death of two school children. But on Tuesday, the attendance was recorded at 25 and on Wednesday it was only 19, according to the teachers.
As many as seven persons – Christopher (13), Vinodh Kumar (23), Nelson (6), Krithika Merlin (8), Munusamy (70), Amudha (27) and Joseph (80) – have died in the village since October 5 after complaining of vomiting and stomach pain.The shocked parents said none of the deceased showed any sign or symptoms of illness until a few hours before their death.
R Soundar Rajan, a relative of one of the deceased, said, “I have sent my son and two daughters to Sathiyamangalam village near Gingee. I don’t know whether the devil is there or not, but something is not right here.”
Vimala Anthony, another local, said a few hours after having breakfast on Sunday, Krithika Merlin vomited and died. “Since then, I have stopped sending my children to school. While we do not know how she died, how can we be sure that it won’t happen to our children?” asked Vimala, who had shifted her nine-year-old son and 13- year-old daughter to Chittoor.
The mystery deaths have affected the normal life in the village as many families were unable to invite their relatives for Deepavali.“One of the victims, Vinodh Kumar, had come from Bengaluru to visit relatives in the village. We are scared to invite our relatives for the festival,” said Muthulakshmi. Locals have also installed several symbols, including cross and scarecrow, to save themselves from the ‘paranormal force’.
Meanwhile, the administration is engaged in making the environment hygienic. Earth movers have been pressed to remove the bushes on either side of the roads. Bleaching powder is being sprinkled at each and every street. Locals are being supplied with drinking water in tanker lorries. Students at the school were given nilavembu kudineer. However, it appears that it would take time for villagers to get over the apprehensions about the evil force haunting them.