Villagers evacuate Bhilwara village to ward off dengue

Bhilwara, Oct 13 (UNI) Villagers of Lakhola in Bhilwara distict today evacuated the entire village in the hope that dengue and chikunguniya will be eradicated from their village.

The villagers, who have assembled at the Gayatri temple, outside the village, are having their meals together and praying and singing paeans to appease the village diety.

Fear has gripped the villagers following the death of one resident Jagdish Jat who is said to have died of dengue at a hospital in Ahmedabad.

Around 21 people in the village are having fever, whose blood samples have been sent for test. Lakhola village has a primary health centre where a doctor from Mahendragarh comes every Tuesday and Friday.

Lakhola village with a population of 3,500 on Bhilwara-Udaipur highway, about 45 km from the headquarters, has become totally empty following a ''sermon'' by village deity Geruri Bawji. Panchayat member Omprakash Bahediya said the village diety has issued a sermon through the priest that the villagers must leave their village before sunrise together and can return after sunset if they want it to be disease-free.

Even educated villagers are sitting outside the village. They have even taken their cattles along with them and left them in the forest for the day.

Sub-divisional officer Anadi Lal Vaishnavi said 89 years ago, the villagers were saved when they evacuated it after an epidemic outbreak. The village diety had summoned them to empty it then.

With that belief still strong, the villagers today decided to empty their village to ward off diseases and all evils.

Mr Vaishnav said the villagers did not budge from their decision although he tried to convince them not to leave the village.

UNI XC RRT SK BS1451