Three year old boy dies, more than 50 fall sick after drinking contaminated water in Raichur
Raichur: A three-year-old boy died after drinking contaminated water in Rekalmaradi village in Devagurga taluk in Raichur district. More than 50 people fell ill in the village after consuming the contaminated water, officials said.
On Thursday, around 25 people were taken to primary health center as they suffered vomiting and loose motion and on Friday the number increased to more than 30.
According to Raichur district health officer Dr. Surendra Babu, women and children were infected the most as they were at home and consumed tap water mixed with drain water. He added that all the infected were rushed to PHC at Devagurga and the critically ill were taken to RIMS at Raichur.
Due to rise in temperature the borewells in the village went dry and all the three RO plants which the gram panchayat had set up are not working. Because of this, People are depending on private borewells and panchayat tap connection from where they get water once in 15-20 days, villagers said.
According to the villagers, the underground pipeline that supplies water to taps burst and drain water got mixed with tap water on Thursday. After taking this contaminated water, people fell ill.
“The infected were injected with IV fluids as they were dehydrated. We regret not being able to save three-year-old boy Hanumesh; he died due to continuous vomiting and loose motion. He was brought to hospital late; he would have survived had IV fluid been given. The rest are recovering,” Dr. Babu said. “Necessary medicine and IV fluids are being given at the PHC. All the infected may be discharged on Monday.”
He added that such incidents are common in Kalyan Karnataka region where drinking water is being supplied to every village through tankers in summers. Tap water is not supplied as groundwater level goes down. “The sample of the contaminated water that people drank was sent to a Bengaluru laboratory for testing,” he said.
Ramesh Karoshi, a villager from Rekalmaradi blamed Devagurga panchayat for the tragedy, He said, “Despite dozens of representations the panchayat officials did not respond. The underground pipeline got broken about a month ago. As the village is being supplied tap water once in 15-20 days, people used the water supplied on Thursday and Friday.”
Karoshi said that the broken underground pipeline was replaced and ROs were made functional after the tragedy. “The administration which did not care despite many petitions has now woken up. We would have saved Hanumesh had the administration been sincere,” he said.
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50 Munambam residents join BJP after Waqf (Amendment) Bill passed
Ernakulam: Hours after the Parliament passed the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 50 residents from Munambam, a coastal village at the centre of the ongoing Waqf land dispute in Kerala, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). All of them are Christians who had previously supported the Congress and CPI(M), according to Joseph Benny, convener of the Munambam protesters’ action committee.
The move came as BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar visited Munambam and addressed the local protesters, assuring them of continued support. “This is an important day in the state's political history. This agitation has given strength to the Prime Minister and Parliament to pass the amendment Bill. We will be with you until you get back revenue rights over the land,” Chandrasekhar said. He added that the Bill has the potential to restore land rights to the people of Munambam and accused their elected MPs and MLAs of betrayal.
Around 600 families, mostly Christians, have been protesting for over 170 days after the Kerala State Waqf Board staked claim to the 400 acres of land they have inhabited for generations.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church-linked Malayalam daily Deepika criticised the Congress and CPI(M) for rejecting the Church’s demand that their MPs support amending “anti-people sections” of the Waqf law. It accused them of attempting to instil fear among minorities by citing Sangh Parivar attacks on Christians in northern states and Manipur.
The BJP has positioned itself as the only party backing the cause of Munambam residents, while accusing both CPI(M) and Congress of prioritising Muslim interests in Kerala. Though both LDF and UDF later extended support to the Munambam agitation, their MPs voted against the amendments.
The Munambam area falls under the Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Congress MP Hibi Eden, and the Vypen Assembly segment, represented by CPI(M) MLA K N Unnikrishnan.
