In a village in Kerala, where the virus has struck, reason is fighting an unknown grave

A year after Kerala was able to fight the Nipah virus, killing 17 people, an old grave at Ground Zero is becoming a "pilgrimage center".

The grave, of an unknown, is now referred to as "dargah" by some of the inhabitants of the predominantly Muslim village of Sooppikkada, in Kozhikode district. They say the virus has targeted the village because the grave has been "neglected over the years". However, other residents questioned "such a superstition" and worried that the tomb, located on private land, could become a "lucrative business".

A committee of the local mosque adopted a "neutral position". "standing" and awaiting the results of an investigation ordered by the Samastha Kerala Jamiyyathul Ulema, an umbrella organization that controls the majority of these panels in the state. An imam said that the dargah had made contributions "outside the village".

The outbreak was reported in May-June of last year after the first suspected case, Muhammed Sabith, of the Valachukettil family in Sooppikkada, died on May 10. , a study conducted by Dr. G Arunkumar of the Manipal Virus Research Center and supported by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), revealed that the virus was transmitted by bats in the village.

Sabith's death, however, is not officially recognized as related to Nipah because his samples have never been tested and he was buried before the diagnosis of the infection. In addition to Sabith, aged 22, three other people who died of the virus are from the family Valachukettil: his father Moosa, his elder brother Salih and Aunt Mariyam.

The grave, located about 100 meters from Sabith's house, was about two months ago, a group of local residents talked about "dargah or makham". Today, a structure covered with a roof was built over the grave, with a small hall at the entrance and a flag pole on the outside. Residents say visitors from Kozhikode, a town some 50 km away, have started arriving to be respectful.

According to Moitheen Kunhi, a relative of the Valachukettil family: "A group of people here think that Nipah came to the village. as the tomb was left in an abandoned state. But the belief that the virus has claimed lives in the village because we neglected the grave is only superstition. We did not help to turn the grave into dargah. I mingled with some of those who succumbed to the virus, but I was not touched, "says Kunhi, a trader.

" In my childhood, I visited the grave two or three times. Nobody knows who was buried there. Some people want to make money. We do not agree with that, "said Kunhi, 61.

Abdullah, from Nazeera Manzil in the village, to the coconut plantation where the" dargah "stands, says he I do not know who the grave is. "" All I know is that it's several decades old. "Abdullah's population, Nabeesa, says" it is strongly believed that Nipah touched the village because of the neglect of which she was a victim. "" About 20 people visited the dargah yesterday (Friday) .A part of our community says that we turned the grave into dargah to collect money, which is wrong " , she says.

On the site Saturday afternoon, The Indian Express met with the isolated visitor – Muhammed Musaliyar of Kozhikode town, who was reading the Quran near the grave. "I'm coming here for the first time.I reached the dargah after hearing about it from others.I arrived in the morning and I will leave at night, "he says.

However, the local Muslim community is divided over the structure. "Part of the community is against the dargah after its construction was linked to the Nipah epidemic. The mahallu committee (local masjid) has taken a neutral stance. We are not encouraging visits to the dargah, nor do we dissuade people from going there. We have the freedom to take a stand. But we do not want to promote any superstitious beliefs. It was built with money from outside and those who visit the site are also, "says Basheer Baqavi, Imam of Juma Masjid in Panthirikkara, near Sooppikkada.

"This question is under study by three members.Committee.A final decision would be taken only after the supreme body of the ulema has considered the report of the commission," says Nazer Faisy Koodathai, of Kerala Samastha Jamiyyathul Ulema

In Kerala, about 3,000 people were quarantined during the Nipah epidemic.A total of 23 suspected cases were suspected, but laboratory tests were not available. 18. WHO has estimated the mortality rate for Nipah cases between 40 and 75%, but in Kozhikode at the time, it was 91%.

The Department managed to contain the epidemic with a range of measures, including the establishment of isolation rooms for suspected cases and a large-scale awareness campaign.