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Belagavi locals to move HC over deaths due to water contamination
Among the infected cases, 10 were in serious condition and were rushed to district government hospitals in Belagavi and Bagalkot, an official said.
The residents of Muddanur village in Belagavi district of Karnataka, where two people died and 70 others were hospitalised after allegedly consuming contaminated water,will move court in connection with the matter, said a district-based activist on Friday.
The residents will file a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Dharwad bench of Karnataka high court, seeking registration of a murder case against the official responsible and safe drinking water supply, the activist said.
On Wednesday, after multiple cases of vomiting and dehydration came to the fore at the Muddanur village in Ramdurg taluk, about 120km from district headquarter in Belagavi, several local residents thronged the primary health centre (PHC).
Later, two deaths were reported from the district, including that of67-year-old Shivappa Belleri from the PHC and 70-year-old Saraswati Sangappa Havali from Ramdurg taluka hospital, officials in the know of the matter said. Both were undergoing treatment after consuming contaminated borewall water, in Belagavi, said one of the official quoted above.
Among the infected cases, 10 were in serious condition and rushed to district government hospitals at Belagavi and Bagalkot, one of the officials citied above said.
Following the reports of deaths and increasing infection cases, the district administration asked the villagers to consume water from the RO (reverse osmosis) unit in the village. However, the villagers accused the officials of apathy and said that the underground pipe connecting to the RO unit was broken and drain water was getting mixed with it. The villagers also shared a video of the same with HT.
Agitated due to the “lack of empathy” from the officials, the villagers approached social worker Govindreddi Rangappa Jaie to file a PIL at the Karnataka high court.
“The fact that the RO unit’s water line was getting mixed with drainage shows the lies and false promises made by the administration,” Jaie said.
“Ramdurga Tehsildar Mallikarjun Hegannavar had said that the administration was working on a war footing to clean the surrounding area of borewells and cracks of the JJM pipeline that supply water to RO units. But in reality the drain water is getting mixed with the pipeline water which has got cracks. This shows the lack of empathy on the part of the officials,” he added.
The PIL will request the court to order the district police to file a suo-moto murder case over the two deaths, he said.
Responding to the allegation of the villagers, Tehsildar Hegannavar, however, said that almost all the damaged pipelines including the one pointed out by the villagers will be repaired by Saturday. “There will be no broken, damaged underground pipelines in Ramdurga taluk by Saturday. I have instructed the rural water supply department assistant executive engineer (AEE) Shrinivas Vishvakarma to carry out the work on a war footing. He has assured to complete the repair work by Friday night,” he said.
This is the second incident in the past week where the contaminated water has resulted in deaths. At least one person has died, and 39 were taken ill after consuming contaminated water in Hotapet village in Yadgir district.
On Tuesday, a 90-year-old woman, Eramma Hiremath, in Hotapeth village in Shahapur taluk of Yadgir district in Karnataka died due to severe diarrhoea at the district hospital in the district making her the first casualty of the third water contamination case in north Karnataka.
Earlier, in October second week, as many as 30 villagers were hospitalised after drinking contaminated water in Mandewal Tanda area 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.
