2 die in ‘drinking water contamination’ at Chennai’s Pallavaram, govt denies
While residents blamed Tambaram Corporation, govt said autopsy will reveal reason_
(L-R) Patients admitted to Chromepet GH; relatives waiting outside the hospital; a woman showing allegedly contaminated water
CHENNAI: Two people died and more than 40 are undergoing treatment allegedly after drinking water mixed with sewage, in Pallavaram on Thursday. Four of them have been referred to Rajiv Gandhi Government Hospital in Chennai, reportedly because their condition is serious.
The deceased were identified as Trivedi (54), who visited his relatives residing in Kamaraj Nagar in Zamin Pallavaram, and Mohanaranga (42) of Pallavaram Cantonment.
While residents blamed contaminated water for the incident and held the Tambaram Corporation responsible, Minister TM Anbarasan rejected the charge, noting that more than 400 people who are using the same source for drinking water would have been affected had the water been contaminated.
Meanwhile, an official statement from the government said water samples taken from five places in Pallavaram Cantonment and Kamarajar Nagar in Tambaram Corporation were sent to King Institute for analysis and that the private tanker used to supply water has been seized.
From Wednesday midnight, several residents of Mariamman Koil Street, Kamaraj Nagar in Pallavaram, which comes under the 13th ward of Tambaram Corporation, started to vomit and suffer from diarrhoea. Soon, nearly 25 of them were admitted to the Chromepet GH and some were admitted to private hospitals in the locality. On Thursday morning, two of them died in the GH without responding to treatments.
The residents alleged that they had complained to the civic body about sewage getting mixed with drinking water a few days ago, but the officials denied it and reportedly said water colour changed due to rain.
Minister Anbarasan who visited the victims at the Chromepet GH told the media that the deaths were not because of water contamination. He said the victims had consumed some old food, which caused food poison and added that most of their houses were unhygienic, which could perhaps be one of the main reasons.
Meanwhile, the State government said in a statement that the bodies of Mohanaranga and Trivedi have been sent for autopsy to ascertain if they died from consumption of poor quality food or drinking water or other reasons. Health Minister Ma Subramanian said a panel headed by Collector would investigate the incident.
