Kesinga: Even as cases of kidney-related ailments are on the rise in several villages of Kesinga block in Kalahandi district, the health department is allegedly playing a mute spectator. With safe drinking water now becoming a luxury for the people, the disease has taken an aggressive toll in the district. Kandheimal village under Kesinga block is the worst hit, a report said.
In Kandheimal alone, nine kidney-related ailment deaths have been reported in the last two years and at present, 15 persons are suffering from kidney ailments.
Sources said 715 villagers are depending upon five tube-wells of the village. Water from the tube-wells contains heavy minerals. Locals alleged that red and yellow coloured water is being pumped out from tube-wells which is not drinkable.
Villagers alleged that the kidney disease has claimed the lives of nine persons of the village including Gomati Jani, Bhujamati, Ajit Jani, Trinath Jal, Purna Jal, Lambodar Jal, Murali Jal, Bhargabi Jani and Damodar Jani. And 15 villagers are now affected with the deadly disease. What is worse is – of those 15, four women are pregnant and six are lactating mothers.
Due to lack of proper healthcare facilities in the peripheral areas, many patients have to seek treatment at hospitals as far as at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Raipur in Chhattisgarh.
Most of them being poor, they are unable to afford treatment in the distant hospitals and remain deprived from proper treatment. Many villagers borrow money from the local moneylenders at higher interests and also by mortgaging ornaments and other valuables.
Although the villagers have been demanding installation of piped water supply system and proper healthcare for ages now, the district administration and health department have not taken any decision in this regard.
According to the villagers, they have been complaining at the Panchayat office and RWSS office in this regard, but found zero result from all sources.
Expressing their resentment over the incident, villagers warned the district administration if their problems were not solved within this December then they would hit the NH-26 in January 2020.
Sarpanch Sanjukta Bag of Utkela village said that she will discuss with the BDO regarding the matter.
When contacted Kalahandi DHH CDMO Banalata Devi said, “We do not get any written complaint regarding the spread of kidney diseases from the villagers. However, I will look into the matter.”