ROURKELA: Tension ran high at Nala road containment zone when an unruly mob pelted stones at police and damaged barricades on Monday even as one more person in the zone tested positive for Covid-19.With this, the total number of positive cases of Nala road rose to six. The fresh case is a 29-year female who is the neighbour of four positive patients, all belonging to a family. With five other positive cases from the minority ghettos at the Bisra containment zone, the total positive cases in Sundargarh district has rose to 11.
Sources said a group of youths attempted to step out of the containment zone towards Mahatab Road when they were stopped by police and asked to go back. The youths retreated but pelted stones at police. Soon, more joined the mob and attacked police. The situation was brought under control with additional deployment of forces.
Some others claimed that a group of people from the zone refuted the report stating that another positive case has been detected in Nala road and started pelted stones at the police personnel in the containment zone. Similarly, the district transgender association president Joya Tripathy in a WhatsApp post claimed that police charged a minor boy and her mother leading to the public outrage.
DIG of Police (western range) Kabita Jalan did not specify the reason but said that the situation has been brought under control. She said the mob had some general grievances and the police and administration would take care of them.
Meanwhile, the sixth positive patient of Nala road was admitted to the Covid-19 hospital at Rourkela. Heath officials informed that she was the neighbour of a family, four members of which had tested positive recently. Although her contact tracing is underway, the patient has been insisting that she has not come in contact with any positive case or stepped out of her house since the first phase lockdown. While three patients have recovered, the district currently has eight active patients whose condition is stable.
4 new cases from Jajpur
Jajpur: The Jajpur administration on Monday notified Erbank, Raghunathapur and Indaroi villages under Erbank panchayat of Bari block as containment zone after four persons from the panchayat tested positive for Covid-19. The shutdown will continue till May 16.This apart, 32 other villages under 11 panchayats of four blocks are under containment in the district. The four new patients had returned from West Bengal on March 30. They were asymptomatic and had completed 14-day home quarantine.