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One dead, 39 hospitalised due to contaminated water supply in Karnataka’s Yadgir
The woman died due to severe diarrhoea on Tuesday at the district hospital, making her the first casualty of the third water contamination case in north Karnataka, one of the people citied above said.
A 90-year-old woman died and 39 others were hospitalised after consuming contaminated water at Hotapeth village in Yadgir district, people in the know of the development said on Wednesday.
The deceased has been identified as Eramma Hiremath of Hotapeth village in Shahapur taluk of Yadgir district in Karnataka.
The woman died due to severe diarrhoea on Tuesday at the district hospital, making her the first casualty of the third water contamination case in north Karnataka, one of the people citied above said.
The hospitalisation cases are being reported from the area since Saturday. Apart from those hospitalised, which includes 10 children, several others are affected by the water contamination but their condition is not serious, said a district administration official who did not want to be named.
A local resident on anonymity said, “The water supplied from an old well was the reason behind the contamination”. The residents had taken the water samples and got them tested in the laboratory and the reports said the water could not be used for drinking purposes, he added.
Villagers also attributed two previous deaths to the consumption of contaminated water. Honnappa Gowda, 45, who died on October 23, and Siddamma Hiremath, 80, who died on October 24 also died after consuming contaminated water, said one of the residents pleading anonymity.
However, the health department denied the allegation and said that Honnappa Gowda died due to heart-related ailments and Siddamma Hiremath due to age-related ailments.
Shahapur Tehsildar Madhuraj said, “As per the medical report, there are other reasons also behind Gowda’s death besides the consumption of contaminated water”.
“I visited Hotapet village on Sunday and residents of the village complained that the stormwater drain water got mixed with pipeline water in some pockets due to some damaged pipes. The overhead tank in the village has also not been cleaned for several months,” he said.
Taluk health officer Ramesha Guttedara Shahapura, however, said that the samples of the well water and water overhead tank had been tested, and the results have established that they can be used for drinking purposes. “The fault is with the pipeline, which the authorities are checking. Alternative arrangements have been made for the supply of drinking water,” he claimed.
Earlier, in October second week, as many as 30 villagers were hospitalised after drinking contaminated water in Mandewal tanda in Kalaburagi district. On September 10, nearly 50 people, including children, were taken ill after they consumed water supplied through a pipeline that had corroded and developed holes through which rainwater got mixed with potable water in the district.
In June this year, five people had died due to water contamination in Raichur district. According to officials, the filtration units were not cleaned for some time and had led to water contamination.
