JOIN US‘Natural lockdown’ saves people living on two West Bengal river islands from Covid-19
Life on two island-like stretches of lands on the river Ganges is a daunting task for the residents of Porashpur and Udaynagar Khand. These islands were created due to sediment deposits on the mighty Padma river which is a tributary of the Ganges in West Bengal.
Cut off from mainland West Bengal for years, nearly 5,000 residents of the islands -locally known as ‘char’- in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district often rue the inconvenience of their “isolated” lives.
However, with the Covid-19 pandemic the isolation has become a shield for them against Covid-19. According to Health Department officials while the state has so far recorded 1,80,788 Covid-19 cases, but they are yet find any trace of the infection in Porashpur and Udaynagar Khand.
Locals have not gone to the mainland for several months. The fact that the local shops in Porashpur and Udaynagar Khand are well stocked with everyday commodities have given them the opportunity to stay safe in their natural isolation.
“We have not left the islands for months as there are sufficient stock of groceries here. There is very little possibility of the infection spreading here,”(sic) said a resident of Udaynagar Khand.
Health Department officials said that their location has acted as a “natural lockdown” for the residents of the islands and has acted as a guard wall against the virus.
They recently held camps in Porashpur and Udaynagar Khand to trace people with symptoms of Covid-19 but none were found. “Our officials held camps on these islands but found none with symptoms of the infection. The natural isolation has made the islands an ideal refuge against Covid-19,” said local Block Medical Officer of Health Amar Ghosh.
According to district officials earlier they used to be concerned about the difficulties faced by the locals due to lack of infrastructure there. But now they breathe a sigh of relief owing to the natural isolation of the residents.
Earlier the residents of the two islands used to face a lot of difficulties in getting essentials from the mainland. But now they are glad that the swelling Padma river has become a wall between them and the virus.