VIZIANAGARAM: The special chief secretary rank officer and senior IAS officer K. Vijayanand, appointed by the state govt as the inquiry officer, visited the district on Tuesday to investigate the diarrhoea outbreak in the Gurla mandal centre, which led to several deaths.
He met with district collector Dr BR Ambedkar and other concerned district officials, including those from the Panchayat Raj, Rural Water Supply, and Medical and Health departments, to gather comprehensive information on the causes of water contamination, sanitation conditions in the village, and medical assistance provided to diarrhoea victims. He specifically inquired about the actions taken by all these departments' staff immediately after the incident.
He also learned about diarrhoea cases recorded in nearby villages before the outbreak in Gurla. He investigated the response of the Medical Health Department to the outbreak and the medical assistance provided and gathered details on when the first case was reported in Gurla. Lab tests on drinking water quality revealed the presence of bacteria responsible for the diarrhoea outbreak.
The Special Chief Secretary also inquired about the causes of drinking water contamination in the village. He examined the lab report results following water tests. He checked whether overhead tanks were regularly chlorinated. He questioned Rural Water Supply SE Umashankar about the possibility of contamination in water supplied by the SSR Peta drinking water scheme. He noted that water could be contaminated due to leaks in drinking water pipelines and suggested the immediate replacement of pipelines in drains. He asked how often overhead tanks were cleaned and the stage at which drinking water became contaminated.
He learned that open defecation was occurring in the village and inquired about the number of families without individual toilets. District Panchayat Officer Venkateswara Rao reported that 180 out of 918 families lacked toilets, and some families with toilets used them for other purposes. He inquired whether the constructed toilets in the village were built with proper design. He also gathered details of sanitation management in the village. He mentioned that raising public awareness, regular chlorination of drinking water sources, changing people's habits, and promoting personal hygiene could prevent the spread of diarrhoea.
He visited the Gurla village and inspected the drinking water scheme at SSR Pet in Nellimarla mandal. He also visited the Gurla Primary Health Centre, spoke with patients receiving treatment for diarrhoea, and inquired about medical care.
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