NALGONDA: Residents of various colonies in Nalgonda town consumed drinking water from a tank in which the body of a man is suspected to have been lying for almost 10 days. This shocking incident came to light on Monday when municipal staff found the body in the 10,00,000 gallon water tank built under the AMRUT scheme in Hindupur ward of Nalgonda town.
The body was identified as that of Avula Vamsikrishna Yadav (27), a man from the same area where the overhead tank is located. Police said the man was mentally unsound.
Yadav had reportedly gone missing on May 24 and his parents lodged a complaint with the Nalgonda Town police the same night.
Around 20,000 residents in six colonies in four wards are being supplied drinking water from the tank. Some people reportedly complained to the municipal staff about the bad smell emanating from the drinking water.
Two residents of the colonies, Ravinder and Srinivas, told reporters that some children in Housing Board had developed fever three days ago and they suspected sunstroke was the cause of illness. They said that they could no longer bear the bad smell and put pressure on municipal officials on Monday. Following this, the staff checked the tank and found the body. They blamed the indifference of the municipal officials for their plight.
Meanwhile, municipal authorities clarified that when they checked the tank for cleaning on May 30 and June 1, they had not found any body in the water.
An assistant engineer and a water lineman found the body of Avula Vamsikrishna when they opened the lid of the tank for cleaning on Monday, they said. They claimed that the tank was cleaned every two-three days before water was supplied to the residents.
They further said that a preliminary investigation revealed that the man had been dead for only two to three days. “A post-mortem is being done as some injury marks were on the body,” they said.
Police are also looking at various angles including suicide and murder.
However, the residents doubted the claims of the municipal officials that the man had been dead only for 2-3 days.
According to municipal rules, water tanks should be checked by the AE and DE concerned every three days and by the commissioner once a week. But the water tank had not been checked for 10 days, the residents alleged.
They blamed the sad state of affairs on lack of regular commissioner and proper supervision over the staff. They said that the truth regarding cleaning of the tank could be found if the log book was checked. They demanded that the district collector check the log book and take appropriate action against those responsible for the incident.
Former MLA K Bhupal Reddy told TNIE that the situation arose due to the negligence of the municipal authorities.
SP Chandana Deepthi said that the police launched an investigating into the cause of death of the man. She further said that Vamsikrishna Yadav had been dead for 2-3 days.
Collector orders probe
District collector Dasari Hari Chandana said that T Purnachandra, additional collector (local bodies), was appointed to conduct a thorough inquiry into the incident and submit a report.
It may be recalled that carcasses of monkeys were found in a drinking water tank in Nagarjunasagar on April 3, causing distress to the residents. Following the incident, medical tests were conducted on the people to check the condition of their health after consuming contaminated water.