ONGOLE: One more person from Kurichedu in Prakasam district died after allegedly consuming sanitiser, taking the toll to 16.
K Guravaiah (55), hailing from Kurichedu, died while undergoing treatment at the Ongole GGH in the early hours of Sunday.
The series of incidents came to light after the medical teams conducted a house-to-house survey in the village after the recent deaths. During the survey, many people said that they used to consume sanitiser as they could not get liquor.
The condition of two persons, K Deva Sahayam and B Subba Rao, who are undergoing treatment at the GGH, is said to be serious. “On Saturday, 40 people from Kurichedu were admitted to the GGH after they complained of stomach ache. Among them, one person died and the condition of two others is serious and the remaining are stable,” Dr D Sreeramulu, medical superintendent, Ongole GGH told TNIE.
On the other hand, one person from Nehru Nagar in Ongole died allegedly after consuming sanitiser on Sunday and Ongole taluk police registered a case of suspicious death and investigation is on.
The medical and health staff continued the house-to-house survey and counselling for people at Kurichedu. The district authorities alerted all mandal-level officials and instructed them to identify the persons who have consumed sanitiser in their respective limits and provide immediate medical treatment to them.
Darsi MLA M Venugopal enquired about the health condition of those undergoing treatment at the GGH. He said that he will discuss with the government and try to get `25,000 financial assistance to the family members.
One more dies in Kadapa district
As liquor shops were closed on Sunday, a 42-year-old man died after consuming sanitiser in Pendlimarri mandal of Kadapa district on Sunday. The deceased was identified as Chennakesulu, a washerman
Special investigation team to inspect manufacturing units
SP Siddharth Kaushal constituted a Special Investigation Team, led by Markapur OSD K Chowdeswari, to investigate the death of 16 persons.
The SIT was asked to collect the samples of all brands of sanitisers from shops and send them for analysis.
“The SIT will also check if any person sold sanitiser as liquor to people,” the SP said. The SIT will also inspect the manufacturing units to check whether they have licence and they are following safety regulations