Patnahas been ranked 13th when it comes to vulnerability of cities in spreading infectious diseases, including Covid-19, through transportation networks, according to the hazard map prepared by the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune.
A team of researchers devised this map of Indian cities, including 446 cities with over 1 lakh Population, to understand the spread of infectious diseases from a host city reporting an outbreak and its spread. The institute used different modes of transportation, such as air, rail and road between cities to create this hazard map. They opined that infections can travel out from cities because of the well-connected transport hubs.
From Bihar, 26 cities were included in the study and five figured on the list top 100 vulnerable cities. Haveli Kharagpur stood at 61st position, Gaya 66, Muzaffarpur 73, Bhagalpur 81 and Ara 87.
Chhapra, Buxar, Danapur, Hajipur, Begusarai, Darbhanga, Katihar and Kishanganj figured in the rank between 101 and 200. Siwan, Sasaram, Dehri and Jamalpur, on the other hand, figured in the rank between 201 and 300. In the rank between 301 and 400, six Bihar cities Bagaha, Bettiah, Motihari, Purnia, Jehhanabad and Saharsa found their mention. Munger got 425th rank to emerge as least vulnerable city in the state as far as spreading infectious diseases is concerned.
Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jhansi, Pune and Jaipur occupied the top 10 positions.