E-Paper
10-year-old dies due to contaminated water
A 10-year-old girl died and 15 people fell ill in Koppal district after consuming contaminated water from a borewell. This is the second incident in the Kalyan Karnataka region within two weeks.
A 10-year-old girl died and 15 people fell ill on Thursday after consuming contaminated water in Koppal district. This is the second reported incident of its kind in the Kalyan Karnataka region within the past two weeks.
The deceased identified as Nirmala (10) was the daughter of Irrappa Belakal from Belakal village in Koppal taluk. The girl alongside 15 others consumed contaminated water that had been supplied to the village’s tank from a borewell the previous evening leading to severe symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhoea, health department officials said.
Since Nirmala’s parents worked as labourers in Bengaluru, she was under the care of a woman described as having partial mental instability, health department officials said.
Dr Alakananda, the district health officer (DHO) of Koppal, stated that AASHA workers swiftly responded to the situation, providing necessary initial treatment to the affected village residents and transferring them to Kusthagi government hospital on Wednesday evening.
Nirmala initially showed signs of recovery after receiving basic medication, leading her caretaker to advise against hospitalisation. Nirmala’s condition deteriorated around 11 pm, with persistent vomiting and diarrhoea. Her caretaker, a close relative, instructed her to rest, assuring her that they would visit the hospital in the morning, according to Dr Alakananda.
Upon visiting Nirmala’s residence on Thursday morning, Dr Alakananda discovered that the child’s bed was soaked in vomit and diarrhoea. “Nirmala’s caretaker informed me that she couldn’t tend to the child as she was in a deep sleep, and she took her to the hospital in the morning,” explained Dr Alakananda.
He further added that Nirmala’s pulse and heartbeat were absent upon arrival at the hospital. After approximately 30 minutes of examination, the attending doctors declared her deceased.
“Belakal village has four borewells connected to various water tanks and reverse osmosis (RO) units throughout the village. One of the borewells had been temporarily closed for pipeline replacement work. However, since the work remained incomplete, villagers requested the pipeline workers to reactivate the borewell connection temporarily to provide water for livestock. The same water source led to this devastating tragedy as people consumed it,” said the health official.
Similar incidents of water contamination are not uncommon in the Kalyan Karnataka region, particularly during the summer months.On May 25, a 3-year-old boy named Hanumesh lost his life, and more than 50 individuals, mostly women and children, fell ill after consuming contaminated water in Rekalmaradi village in Devagurga taluk, Raichur district.
