Tripura: Accidental Deaths in Agartala Record Drastic Dip amid Lockdown

Agartala, April 27, 2020:

With the nationwide lockdown in force to contain the infectious chain of COVID 19, deaths due to road rage and accidents have fallen dramatically in Tripura capital Agartala, a data shared by the GBP hospital trauma care centre, the biggest referral hospital of the state, showed.

According to the data received, not a single death has been reported from Mach 24 to April 26, and the number of patients visiting hospitals has also recorded a drastic dip.

Speaking to this Inside Northeast, sources in the medical record department of the hospital said, “In the stretch of 1 month and 3 days (the lockdown period), not a single death has been reported in the trauma care centre where 2 to 3 deaths are reported daily on a usual basis. The number of OPD and IPD patients has also decreased during the period."

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Requesting anonymity, the source also added that "normally", 50 to 60 patients visit the trauma care centre and half of the patients are "serious" cases. On an average, 50 percent of them get admitted in the hospital and average deaths number 3-5. Charting the total figure, he said, "In this period, altogether 1,028 patients have availed treatment in GBP Trauma care centre among which, only 150 patients have accessed the admission facility."

The crematorium ground of Battala located in the heart of the Tripura capital tells a similar tale. In the crematorium ground, only two cases related to accidental deaths have been performed ever since the lockdown came into effect.

Meanwhile, as many as 651 funeral pyres were lit in Battala Mahasmasan (crematorium ground) from March 24 to April 26. According to the staff, the number deaths has reduced significantly. “Usually, about 25 funeral pyres are lit daily. And, now in the last months the numbers dwindled. However, still about 20 dead bodies come every day”, Sashankha Barman, an AMC staff posted there, told us.

Upon being asked of about accidental deaths, Barman said that only 2 accident cases have been reported in the lockdown period. However, deaths related to other reasons: old age ailment, suicides, etc, have remained constant in the Tripura capital.

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