80 ill after eating dog-bitten goat's meat on New Year

After the New Year, the villagers in Multai decided to eat a goat though it was bitten by a dog. Almost 80 persons became sick and many even showed signs of rabies.

The story is quite intesting. One, Kundlik Rao owned the goat. But a mad dog bit this goat and a buffalo the same day. Three days after the buffalo died and later the condition of the goat also worsened.

But Rao sold the goat to some persons of the same village who slaughtered it for a grand bash. They ate the mutton curry. No less than 80 persons consumed the mutton. From January 3 onwards they started falling sick one after the other.

From vomiting to fits, the victims' condition began to deteriorate. But in remote village in Multai (Betul) in Madhya Pradesh, there was no doctor anywhere near their village. The closest town was also far away.

The 30 persons whose condition had worsened were taken to a place near the village where a witch-craft practitioner gave them 'medicine', which was nothing but bhabhut (holy ash). Villagers developed signs of rabies.

Now when the condition of most these persons became critical, the district administration realised the gravity of situation. Their blood samples are being sent for test though doctors admit that such delay can cost them dear and some of them may lose their life.

That's a weird story, which doesn't gel with the flavour of this blog. But it reflects the condition in which tribals and villagers live in India far away from urban areas and at the mercy of Babas and quacks. Recently we had posted the story about doctors on this blog.