3 dead due to ‘contaminated drinking water’ near Chennai

At least three people died and 20 have been hospitalised in Tambaram on the outskirts of Chennai on Thursday, with the local residents suspecting contaminated drinking water as the cause, officials aware of the matter said.

The deceased were identified as Varalakshmi (88), Mohana Rangan (32) and Thiruvedi.

However, officials did not immediately point out the reason behind the incident and said that water samples have been sent for testing.

The statement added that water from five places in Pallavaram Cantonment area and from five places in Pallavaram Kamarajar Nagar under the Tambaram corporation have been sent for testing to the King’s Institute Laboratory.

“The report will come in three days... The Tambaram corporation distributed drinking water through a private tanker,” the statement added.

It also said that health camps were set up for the residents. The state government said that it is awaiting the results of the post mortem examinations.

One of the affected residents, Sadasivam, who was undergoing treatment at the government Chrompet hospital, said that he had diarrhoea from Wednesday night. “I think it is because of the water. It had a bad odour. I’ve been sick since last night,” Sadasivam added.

“In the past 15 years, we have been suffering from water problems,” said another resident, K Damodaran. “Now sewage has mixed with water that has led to these deaths and hospitalisation,” he added.

Minister for health M Subramanian visited those undergoing treatment at the hospital. “Two people were brought dead and one person died in the hospital. We can arrive at a conclusion only after we receive the post-mortem reports and the results of the water samples sent to the laboratory,” minister Subramanian said.

MSME minister TM Anbarasan and Pallavaram MLA E Karunanidhi inspected the locality in Tambaram.

A political storm was triggered after Anbarasan said that the water was not contaminated, and food could be the reason behind the residents suffering from nausea and diarrhoea. His statement irked the opposition parties.

“Water is basic necessity and the government’s duty is to supply it with utmost caution. This incident shows the DMK government’s callousness... The government is playing with the lives of the people,” said opposition leader and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi Palaniswami (EPS).

BJP state president K Annamalai condemned the DMK minister’s remark. “It is doubtful whether chief minister MK Stalin is aware of the prevailing ground-level conditions. There is corruption in everything and people’s lives are lost every day,” Annamalai added.