Mail from Pakistan to be scanned for anthrax

jalandhar: the authorities here have taken urgent steps to combat the threat of anthrax attack by terrorists and to protect sensitive installations. the railway mail service which receives letters from doabia nris has not only issued gloves and face masks to its staff, but has also dispatched a team of top-level officials to wagah border on tuesday to supervise the scanning of mail coming from pakistan.at the adampur air force station, surveillance has been stepped up by the jalandhar police following the terrorist strikes at sensitive installations in jammu and kashmir and also the attack on the colombo international airport by ltte guerrillas recently. however, medical experts contacted by the times of india on tuesday revealed that the panic created by the anthrax scare in the country had been blown out of all proportions. anthrax, they say, is nothing new to india. in fact, thanks to the migration of labour from the south, punjab is already vulnerable to diseases of all kinds, say medical experts. moreover, they point out, antibiotics to cure anthrax are available all over the state. anthrax took on epidemic proportions in the south when antibiotics were not available, but now it is easily curable, they say. still, messages have gone to senior medical officers in the doaba region that they should be well stocked with ciprofloxacin, a commonly available antibiotic for anthrax. "cipla, ranbaxy, bayer and many other pharmaceutical companies make antibiotics that are even supplied to the us to cure anthrax," says jalandhar civil surgeon pl goyal. ssp gaurav yadav said that precautionary steps had been taken to prevent terrorist strikes on the adampur air force station in the last one week. "nakas had been set up, thikri pehras ordered in surrounding villages and a large police force deployed at the adampur air force station," the ssp said. "a special cell has been created under sp mf farooqi to prevent anthrax attacks. the will coordinate with the civil surgeon's office and deputy commissioner's office," the ssp said. a few hundred metres before the main entrance to the adampur air force station a police naka come up which checks all vehicles going in, be they army, police civilian. because of the existence a kendriya vidyalya inside complex there are a large number of civilians going in daily. a crack team has been deployed round-the-clock at this naka take on any kind of terrorist attack, police sources reveal. seven beats have been set up behind the complex, with at least policemen to protect the base from an attack from the rear. "staff at the rms office at station have been trained to touch the envelopes with their gloved hands and to feel for the soft powdery substance," said pp rattan, assistant superintendent, rms, jalandhar division.