Girl, who accompanied CM Jagan during flood-hit areas, dies of fever

Visakhapatnam: The 10-year-old girl, who toured her entire village and surroundings along with Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy during his visit to the flood-hit areas of Alluri Sitarama Raju district in July, died of fever on Wednesday evening.

Karam Sandhya, daughter of former sarpanch Yesubabu of Kuyuguru village of Chinturu mandal in ASR district, drew the attention of the Chief Minister when he was in her village during floods in July. The Chief Minister took her along with him to visit the flood-affected villages and the surroundings. The girl’s death shocked the entire village and the people were angry with the local administration for not taking proper care of the girl. Many said the girl could not have died due to fever if proper care was given.

ASR district collector Sumit Kumar said Sandhya fell ill on August 20 and was treated at a private hospital and when her blood was tested her platelet count was good. She fell ill again on August 29 and was admitted to an area hospital in Chintur but her vomiting did not stop. She was again moved to a private hospital and from there to the government hospital in Bhadrachalam.

“We were thinking of shifting her to Vijayawada for better treatment but the girl collapsed and died,’’ the collector said, denying she died of dengue. He said medical reports from the hospital were awaited.

However, contradicting him, several government doctors in ASR district said she might have died of dengue. The floods have caused spurt in vector-borne diseases in the agency tracts, they said.