It’s often called the Konaseema of north coastal Andhra Pradesh for its fertility, but the Uddanam region in Srikakulam district has been in the grip of mysterious and chronic kidney diseases for the last two decades. Mysterious, because no one knows for sure their causes, though over 4,500 people have died in the last decade alone and nearly 40,000 are suffering even as we write. The unmatched apathy of successive governments towards this inexplicable phenomenon is equally mysterious. Consider this: The diseases are rampant in about 120 villages in six mandals. In fact, close to a third of Uddanam’s population is affected and yet, just about three dialysis centres have been set up so far, forcing patients to travel all the way to Visakhapatnam for treatment.
The issue hit the headlines only after Jana Sena chief and actor Pawan Kalyan paid a visit to the region and set a 48-hour deadline for the State government to take effective measures. The Chandrababu Naidu government, initially on the defensive citing the inability of researchers —from Harvard, Indian Council of Medical Research, and BARC to the NTR University of Health Sciences—to crack the mystery, finally relented and announced a slew of long overdue measures to bring relief to the victims. Among them is the supply of mineral water to the affected villages. But the question is: Why wasn’t even this basic facility provided when thousands were dying. This, in a way, epitomises the unpardonable official apathy, both at the State and Central level.
Now, the Central government too has promised to send a team of experts to study the root cause of the renal ailments. Is it not a fact that funding was stopped for research on the same after 2011? This is not the time for knee-jerk reactions. Given that Uddanam is among the three regions most affected by chronic kidney diseases in the world, the government must release funds for research, besides ensuring necessary medical facilities for the patients.