A six-year-old girl died of snakebite at a quarantine centre in the district following which three persons have been booked, a senior official said. The girl was sleeping along with her family on the floor at the quarantine centre for want of beds when the incident occurred in the early hours of May 25, Nainital District Magistrate (DM), Savin Bansal, said.
The girl was taken to the community health centre at Betalghat where she was declared dead, he said.
A vacant school building which was converted into a quarantine centre in Talli Sethi area of Betalghat is the place where the incident took place.
Sub-Inspector (Revenue) Rajpal Singh, Village Development Officer Umesh Joshi and assistant teacher Karan Singh have been booked under various sections of the IPC including 304 A (causing death by negligence) in connection with the incident, the DM said.
Interactive map of confirmed coronavirus cases in India | e-Book on COVID-19 | State-wise tracker for coronavirus cases, deaths and testing rates
According to the inmates at the quarantine facility, the family had complained to Mr. Rajpal Singh about the risk of snakebite with thick bushes surrounding the centre, but he allegedly did not respond.
The family had been quarantined at the school building on its return from Delhi recently.
Also read: Coronavirus | Pandemic brings Uttarakhand’s ghost hamlets to life
People lodged in quarantine centres in hilly areas have been complaining about dirty washrooms and shortage of water supply.
The death of the girl was a result of this mismanagement, other inmates at the centre charged.
Also read: India lockdown 4.0 guidelines | What’s allowed and what’s not?
Mahesh Chandra, who has been quarantined at a primary school in the district, complained that toilets at the facility are dirty with little to no privacy owing to broken doors.
The tank is also infested with worms, he said.
