Nalgonda: 12 deaths in 11 days; Villagers leave houses for a day to ward off evil

The entire village wore a deserted look from 6 am to 5 pm as everyone left their houses and spent under the trees from dawn to dusk as per the decision of the elders of the village.

Nalgonda: The people of Chandupatla of Nakrekal mandal left their houses to spend the entire day under trees away from the village on Wednesday for an unusual reason.

The entire village wore a deserted look from 6 am to 5 pm as everyone, irrespective of age and caste, left their houses and spent under the trees from dawn to dusk as per the decision of the elders of the village. This was after 12 persons died in the village due to health problems since January 21.

With 12 deaths in 11 days, the villagers had started panicking. It was then that the elders of Chandupatla conducted a meeting at the village centre and decided that all the villages should leave their houses for a day to protect the village from negativity. The people also sacrificed sheep and roosters in the morning before leaving their houses.

One of the villagers, P Saidulu, said special measures were taken up to ensure that no one entered the village from 6 am to 5 pm after the villagers left their houses. The decision of village elders was also to reassure the villagers and remove fear from their minds, he said.