CUTTACK: There seems to be no solution in sight for people of Narasinghpur and Badamba blocks in the Cuttack district which continue to face a high prevalence of chronic renal failure (CRF) and related mortalities. Hundreds of people in the blocks have lost their lives to kidney diseases and thousands of others are suffering from acute renal problems. The cases were first reported in 2010 and since then, health experts have not been able to find out the cause leading to the outbreak of renal diseases in the two blocks.
According to official records, at least 21-gram panchayats in Narasinghpur block and 17-gram panchayats in Badamba block have been worst affected by kidney diseases. Of the 1,624 kidney patients identified in Narasinghpur and Badamba blocks, as many as 1,551 are suffering from chronic kidney disease(CKD).
As per the records of the dialysis centre at Narasinghpur community health centre, as many as 78 kidney patients are undergoing dialysis of whom, 29 belong to Badamba block and the rest 49 are from Narasinghpur block.
In 2011-12, the State government constituted an inter-disciplinary fact-finding committee consisting of nephrologists, officials of Regional Medical Research Centre(RMRC), Indian Mineral and Material Technology(IMMT), Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) and non-communicable disease cells to conduct research and ascertain the exact cause behind the renal diseases. The experts who visited the affected areas several times and collected water and soil samples for examining the presence of metal and pesticides, are yet to find out the reasons behind the outbreak. A Central team too reviewed the situation and collected soil and water samples but it yielded no result.
Although sources said that the research project was stopped after the demise of Prof Chitta Ranjan Kar, the then Nephrology HoD of SCB Medical College and Hospital and a member of the committee, in 2020, chief district medical officer Satyabrat Chhotray said the research work is still being carried out by Utkal Kidney Foundation. He, however, said that it would need more time to find out the cause behind the outbreak of renal diseases.
Locals alleged that they are being kept in the dark about the reasons behind the diseases and making things worse is the fact that the Cuttack administration has now stopped all kinds of health check-up camps that it used to organise for them earlier.
During the tenure of Girish SN as Cuttack Collector in 2012, free renal disease check-up camps were organised every fortnight or month at the SCBMCH for the people of the two blocks. The district administration would bring the patients to SCBMCH and get them checked for diseases. However, this was stopped after Girish was transferred two years later. And since then, no such camp has been organised so far