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Two more dead in Belagavi due to contaminated water
Villagers of Muddenur in Ramdurg taluk, about 120km from district headquarter in Belagavi, thronged to the primary health centre (PHC) with complaints of vomiting and dehydration at around 6 in the evening on Wednesday.
A day after a person died and 39 hospitalised in Yadgir district due to the consumption of contaminated water last Tuesday, similar incident broke out in Belagavi distric on Wednesday, where two people died and 70 others hospitalised for consuming water from a borewell surrounded by the drain-like pond, official said.
Villagers of Muddenur in Ramdurg taluk, about 120km from district headquarter in Belagavi, thronged to the primary health centre (PHC) with complaints of vomiting and dehydration at around 6 in the evening on Wednesday.
However, Shivappa Belleri, whose vomiting and loose motion could not stop, breathed his last at the village at the PHC, officials said, adding that ten among the infected were in serious condition and rushed to district government hospitals at Belagavi and Bagalkot.
A 70-year-old Saraswati Sangappa Havali from the same Muddenur village in Ramdurg taluk who was undergoing treatment for consuming contaminated borewell water, died at Ramdurg taluka hospital on Thursday evening.
Ramdurg tahasildar Mallikarjun Hegannavar told HT that all those hospitalised were stable and recovering and would be discharged by Friday morning.
Deceased Shivappa Belleri was laid to rest at the village on Wednesday night.
“The water was detected unsafe for consumption for humans and animals, as those got mixed with drain water mixed with garbage and cow dung. Due to rains, the water stored in the garbage dens got sucked and mixed into the borewell pipes,” he said.
He said that the taluk administration has started cleaning the surrounding areas of all the borewells in the taluk to avoid such incidents in the future.
Belagavi district health officer Dr Mahesh Koni said that all those who suffered are recovering as they all attended immediately. Dr Koni and Tahasildar Hegannavar added that the sample of water from both the borewells were sent to the laboratory in Bengaluru and a report is expected shortly.
Villagers and others attending the infected at the hospitals, who did not want to be named, said their village has a population of about 3,000 and about 750 homes and is entirely dependent on borewells and lakes for water for them and animals. No block is connected to tap water. It was for the first time such a tragedy occurred in the village.
However, Belagavi district in-charge minister Govind Karjol held the villagers responsible for the incident.
“Muddenur village was installed with about a dozen RO units which supply pure and safe water. Apart from street shows, the campaign, by announcing through loudspeakers to use the RO units, people kept using the borewell and lake waters which caused such a tragedy,” he added.
Karjol said that 80% of the houses in Muddenur village were installed with the tap pipeline water connection, and the rest will be soon under the “Jal Jeevan Mission” scheme, and water will be supplied by the end of December.
He added that the government would give ₹10 lakh compensation to the kin of the deceased Shivappa Belleri.
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.
The deaths and hospitalisations were reported since Saturday. Apart from those hospitalised, which includes ten children, several others are affected by the water contamination, but their condition is not serious, said officials of the district administration.
According to residents, water supplied from an old well was the reason behind the contamination. A resident who didn’t want to be named said that 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.
Villagers also attributed two more deaths to the consumption of contaminated water. They said Honnappa Gowda, 45, who died on October 23, and Siddamma Hiremath, 80, who died on October 24, had consumed contaminated water. However, the health department denied the allegation and said Gowda died due to heart-related ailments and Hiremath due to age-related ailments.
