TIRUCHY: The district health department on Monday said water samples collected from houses in a few Woraiyur wards were “safe” and contamination was not the reason for the deaths of three persons that happened in the last two days. However, the relatives of victims refute the government’s claim that people fell ill after consuming food distributed during the Chithirai festival held on April 14 and believe water drawn from public pipes caused it.
The localities worst affected include Panickan Street (ward 8) and Minnappan Street (10). G Latha (57) of Mela Minnappan Street died in her home on Saturday morning. Her husband D Govindaraj refuted the official version of heart ailment and said she died due to severe diarrhoea, following consumption of water from a public pipe two days earlier. “She didn’t eat anything from the festival, and we didn’t opt for an autopsy,” he said.
M Priyanka (4) died on Saturday afternoon while being taken to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH) from the Woraiyur PHC. According to her father, N Muralidharan, she showed symptoms of vomiting and diarrhoea. Autopsy was performed on Sunday.
The family of Lakshmi (85), who died the same day, also claimed that she had been in good health. The family also did not opt for an autopsy.
Several families, including those from Panickan Street say they have similar symptoms after drinking water from the pipe. Kavitha (44) was admitted to MGMGH on Monday after experiencing severe vomiting and diarrhoea. Her in-laws, N Duraisamy (78) and his 75 year old wife , were hospitalised earlier with similar symptoms. The family insists they did not consume food from the festival. Some of their relatives who came from Namakkal and drank the water also fell ill, the family claims. N Farith Begam (45) and her son N Naveeth (19) of Bangali Street in ward 9 were hospitalised after consuming what they claimed was water from the corporation’s supply on Sunday.
However, Tiruchy Corporation officials said that water samples taken on Monday showed no evidence of contamination. Speaking in the Assembly, minister KN Nehru, said the illness could be linked to the food served during the festival. All affected people who have been admitted to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital are stable, hospital sources said.
Meanwhile, health teams screened 1,492 households and treated 6,416 people with precautionary medications. A total of 200 health workers conducted door to door screening and offered people tablets and ORS. Nine medical camps have been set up for assistance.