UP's Jalalpur village witnesses 18 deaths in 14 days, residents accuse administration of negligence

By Gaurav Arora
Gautam Buddh Nagar (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 14 : As many as 18 COVID-related deaths have occurred in Jalalpur village in Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district in the last 14 days.
A local leader Ravinder Singh Bhati told ANI, "More than 18 people have died in the last 14 days. The first death occurred on April 28."
According to Bhati whoever died first got a fever, after which their oxygen level started falling.
"Because of this, there is panic in the villages of Greater Noida," he said.
"Over 70 people have died in last 20 days in Khairpur Gurjar, Saberi, Chapraula, Shahdullapur, Jalalpur, Milak Lachhi and Saini Dujana villages in Greater Noida area. However, most of them were elderly. Dozens of people are still suffering from fever in these villages," he added.
The family of Atar Singh, a resident of the village, has lost two sons in the last two days. His son Pankaj died on Tuesday and his second son Deepak on Wednesday.
It is not yet clear if the two men died of COVID-19.
While talking to ANI, Atar's uncle said, "This has shattered the whole family. Atar's situation is as same as his sons'. It is difficult to say if he is infected or not without any test being conducted. How long will people die without being tested or treated?"
Another villager Amit said that he lost his father and his whole family was infected.
"The local administration is doing nothing. We are in pain. My father died. The whole village is suffering. We are numb," Amit said.
According to official data, as many as 17,775 new COVID-19 cases and 281 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours in Uttar Pradesh. The active cases in the state have mounted to 2,04,658.