TURA: Garo Hills has recorded its first casualty from complications arising out of the Covid-19 infection with an 84-year-old man passing away at the Tura Civil Hospital on Saturday night.
The elderly man, who had a history of other health problems, had tested positive for the disease during random testing carried out in Tikrikilla area of the district. He was admitted at the Covid Care Centre of the Tura Civil Hospital on August 18.
“He passed away last night due to complications arising out of comorbidities. Our condolences are with the bereaved family,” announced Deputy Commissioner of West Garo Hills Ram Singh.
Protests against cremation in Tura: Meanwhile, in a shocking case similar to what happened at Jhalupara Shillong where protesters refused the cremation of Meghalaya’s first Covid victim Dr Sailo, angry protestors in Tura too blocked the road at Nakham bazar leading to the Shamsan ghat cremation ground after reports began to surface that the deceased would be cremated there.
The distraught family of the victim had experienced difficulty in obtaining a vehicle to take the body back to Tikrikilla for the last rites.
The 108 ambulance service had also refused to take the body citing health rules that allow it to only ferry patients to hospitals.
“There was an issue as some people had objected but it had been sorted out. Initially, we had thought of cremating the body in Tura because the family was not getting a vehicle” informed Ram Singh.
By afternoon, a vehicle was finally arranged and the body was taken away enroute to Tikrikilla for the final rights.
