Heated arguments in Council over diarrhoea deaths in State

Guntur : The State Legislative Council on Wednesday witnessed a wordy duel between the government and the opposition.

While opposition leader Botcha Satyanarayana criticised the government for the recent deaths due to diarrhoea in Vizianagaram, Minister for Medical and Health Satya Kumar Yadav charged the previous government responsible for the situation as they did nothing to improve sanitation.

Earlier, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Botcha Satyanarayana demanded ex gratia to the family members of diarrhoea victims and criticised the government for not responding immediately to check the diarrhoea cases.

Speaking at the Council on Wednesday, Botcha pointed out that due to lack of facilities the patients were administered fluids on the benches in classrooms. “The patients should have been shifted to the hospitals in the nearest towns,” he said.

Giving reply to the question, Minister for Medical and Health Y Satya Kumar Yadav said that 18 persons died due to outbreak of diarrhoea including four persons in Gurla mandal of Vizianagaram district. He said that contamination of drinking water was the main reason for the outbreak of diarrhoea.

He further said that as soon as diarrhoea cases were reported, the medical and Health department set up 24x7 health camps to treat the patients.

He said there was no provision for sanctioning ex gratia to family members of diarrhoea victims. He squarely blamed the YSRCP government for contamination of drinking water in Vizianagaram and there are no individual latrines to the poor in Vizianagaram where diarrhoea cases were reported.

The Minister said that he had visited Jaggaiahpet and Dachepalli where diarrhoea cases were reported. “Deputy Chief Minister K Pawan Kalyan had visited Vizianagaram that is why he did not visit Vizianagaram.”

He said the government will take steps to construct the individual latrines.

Minister for Agriculture K Atchannaidu criticised that during the YSRCP government rule, even drinking water pipelines leaks were not set right and bleaching powder was not mixed in the drinking water.

Satya Kumar Yadav recalled that thousands of diarrhoea cases were reported in YSR district during the YSRCP rule. He held the YSRCP government responsible for the diarrhoea deaths.

Peeved by the remarks of Minister for Medical and Health Y Satya Kumar Yadav and the TDP MLCs, the YSRCP MLCs headed by Botcha Satyanarayana staged a walkout from the Legislative Council to register their protest.