Shivamogga DC to stay in KFD-hit village

To instil confidence among the people of Aralagodu gram panchayat limits in Sagar taluk and eradicate myths about Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD-Monkey fever) which has claimed the lives of eight persons in two months, Deputy Commissioner K A Dayananda is all set to stay in the village on January 30.

Confirming this, he told DH that he has made up his mind in this regard.

“I will stay either in gram panchayat office building or in the government school on the night of January 30. I had visited the village many times after the outbreak of KFD in the region,” he said.

Dayananda said, “The people told me that many are reluctant to come there fearing that they may get infected with KFD. There are misconceptions about the disease. This has demoralised the residents. So, they asked me to stay in the village and I have decided to stay there,” he said.

Earlier, many social activists had criticised the district administration for conducting four-day Sahyadri Utsav from January 27 amid KFD outbreak.