MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Virudhunagar collector to consider and take a decision within two months on a plea made by a Sri Lankan Tamil refugee seeking compensation for the death of his 11-year-old daughter, who fell ill allegedly after drinking contaminated water provided at the camp.
Justice C Saravanan passed the order while disposing of a petition filed by T Nathan, a resident of the Sri Lankan Tamil Rehabilitation Camp in Sivakasi.
Nathan stated in his petition that there are 38 families in the camp. As the borewell meant to supply drinking water to the camp was constructed very close to three pre-existing septic tanks within the camp premises, the waste and effluents from the septic tanks gradually mixed with the groundwater drawn by the said borewell.
As a result, the water supplied to the camp became unfit for human consumption. However, in the absence of any alternative source, the residents continued to drink the contaminated water, following which more than 40 of them, including children, fell ill with fever and other symptoms, Nathan stated.
His 11-year-old daughter also fell seriously ill on July 17, and despite treatment at various government hospitals, her platelet count dropped drastically, and she died on July 22, Nathan alleged.
After camp residents staged protests, authorities provided a new temporary water tank at the camp but did not admit their fault or provide compensation for his daughter’s death, he added, and sought adequate compensation.