Negligence or crime?: Unidentified people throw used coronavirus testing kits in Shikarpur

SHIKARPUR: Unidentified people have thrown used coronavirus testing kits, protective gears, gloves and other equipment near river side in Shikarpur where some villagers reportedly attempted to burn it while other locals took pieces to their homes, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The incident was reported in Shikarpur’s Amrot Sharif area where a union council (UC) chairman found the wastage near the Khirthar Canal while passing through the link road.

The innocent locals having lack of information regarding the coronavirus disasters tried to check the wastage and some people have reportedly took some used protective gears and gloves to their homes.

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After spotting the used items, the UC chairman immediately reported the local police station in Amrot Sharif which led the police officers to reach the location and initiate an inquiry over the criminal negligence.

The police department has contacted concerned authorities and other officers on the matter, however, the high-level officials have rejected that the wastage belongs to their areas. The officials have also showed suspicions of some opponents to defame the local departments for the negligence.

Moreover, the local authorities have no technical staff to dispose of the coronavirus medical wastage which risked the lives of the people living in surrounding areas.

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According to the ARY News correspondent, the link road was not commonly used by people that is mostly surrounded by agriculture land. However, suspicions prevailed that someone tried to dispose of the medical wastage into the river water but mistakenly dropped some items.

It emerged that the nearest medical facilities, Maleji Taluka Hospital and Lucky Ghulam Shah Taluka Hospital, were situated at least 15 kilometres far from the site, whereas, the coronavirus testing kits, protective gears and other equipment have not reached to the said areas.

Despite the ongoing crisis of the coronavirus pandemic across the country, the local authorities have made no progress to arrest the responsible persons behind the criminal negligence.

It is pertinent to mention here that Sindh has the second highest figure of coronavirus infections up to 1,518 after Punjab with 2,881 as the total number of the COVID-19 cases reached 5,837 across Pakistan.