Mangalagiri: TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu slams bid to 'cover up' Eluru mysterious illness

Mangalagiri: TDP national president and former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday accused the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government of trying to cover up the reasons for the Eluru mystery illness instead of taking proactive measures to save people from the unexpected health crisis.

Naidu advised the Chief Minister to give personal attention to the need for restoring normalcy in the West Godavari town without abdicating his immediate responsibility to create confidence in the local people. It was only because of the Government's failure to provide clean drinking water and proper sanitation that the present situation was prevailing in Eluru.

Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters here, the TDP chief said that it was wrong on the part of the Health Minister to say that there was no water contamination or drainage problems. It was also incorrect to dismiss the symptoms of the affected residents as mass hysteria. By saying so, the Government was abdicating its responsibility.

Naidu said that there was prima facie evidence to say that the people were falling ill due to water contamination or air pollution. There might be lapses in drinking water lines getting contaminated with drainage or there might be problems caused by wrong chlorination or improper use of pesticides meant for mosquito control.

Under such a panic situation, Chief Minister Jagan should have stayed in Eluru for two to three days and given proper leadership. Stating that people of all ages from below 12 years to above 70 years were falling victims, Chandrababu Naidu stressed the need for a deep study of the mysterious disease.

The affected persons were developing fits and frothing at their mouths and collapsing. A 70-year-old woman collapsed while cooking while a 12-year-old girl developed fits during a visit to a temple.