Minister addresses diarrhoea outbreak in Gurla

Visakhapatnam: State Minister for Small and Medium Industries, SERP, and NRI Affairs, Kondapalli Srinivas, announced that medical assistance is being provided to individuals affected by diarrhoea in Gurla Mandal of Vizianagaram district.

The Minister visited Gurla village on Thursday to evaluate the situation and toured the medical camp located at the local Zilla Parishad High School and engaged in discussions with medical officers as well as officials from the Panchayat Raj and Rural Water Supply Departments.

District Medical and Health Officer S. Bhaskar Rao provided an update to the Minister regarding the medical support available in various hospitals. The Minister also addressed concerns regarding drinking water contamination with officials. Additionally, water samples were collected from several borewells, revealing that groundwater in some areas is indeed contaminated.

The Minister directed officials to compile reports on the quality of water supplied through drinking water schemes, emphasizing that a thorough analysis of these reports would help pinpoint contamination sources. Until these issues are resolved, he ordered that drinking water be supplied to the village via tankers and advised residents against using local borewells or water schemes. He stressed that once contamination causes are identified and alternative arrangements made, education on safe local water use would follow.

During his visit, the Minister also spoke with patients at the ZP High School camp, inquiring about their health and treatment progress. The DMHO reported that 22 patients are being treated at the school camp, 18 at Ghosha Hospital, 7 in Cheepurupalli, and 18 at Vizianagaram Government General Hospital, and three patients have been transferred to KGH for further care.

In statements to the media, the Minister noted that they have been closely monitoring the situation for five days and have collected samples from various water sources for testing. He mentioned that waste disposal into the Champavathi River has been identified as a contributing factor to water contamination and assured that measures would be taken to prevent future waste disposal into the river. The DPO has been tasked with submitting report aimed at preventing upstream villages from dumping waste into this water source.