Death Finds A Hill Station

It's not just the hospital. The busy marketplace has no customers either. The school's closed till month-end. The bus stand looks abandoned, with no discernible movement. The inhabitants prefer to stay indoors and look anxiously at every ambulance that moves in and out of the hospital. This small prosperous town of apple orchards made shocking headlines for an entire week due to an outbreak of lethal pneumonic plague that claimed four lives in a single family, as 11 others continued battling for life.

Despite the fact that no new cases of plague have been reported since February 14 and the official announcement that the epidemic has been contained, the scare hasn't lifted. Initial panic has now diminished to a still-palpable concern. The masks and a variety of antibiotics that sold like life-saving gears to fight plague in the town are still in good demand.