PDO suspended in Kakalwar village

A PDO was suspended when villagers in Kakalwar village were hospitalized after allegedly drinking contaminated water.

Panchayat Development Officer (PDO) Mallareddy was later suspended on Saturday evening for dereliction of duty.

The action was taken by Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Garima Panwar following an incident in which several people in Kakalwar village in Gurmitkal taluk of Yadgir district suffered from vomiting and diarrhoea after drinking allegedly contaminated water on Saturday.

It was alleged that Mr Mallareddy had failed to provide drinking water to the residents even though the pipeline supplying drinking water to the residents from the elevated tank was damaged and sewage had entered the water.

“Since Saturday, 25 villagers were suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea. They have been treated and 19 of them have already been discharged. Currently, five people have been admitted to the district hospital in Yadgir, one each to the taluk hospital in Gurmitkal and the health camp in Kakalwar and they are all stable,” said Hamumanth Reddy, taluk health officer. The Hindu.

Deputy Commissioner B. Susheela and Ms. Panwar visited the village and made alternative arrangements to supply drinking water to the people and the hospital where the people were being treated.

A senior health official has set up camp in the village to provide immediate treatment to the infected.

“This is not the first incident where people in Gurmitkal taluk have been affected by contaminated water. In previous incidents, around a hundred people suffered health problems but no serious action has been taken so far. Mere suspension of the PDO is not a solution. The administration and the government should find a permanent solution and provide drinking water to the people of rural areas,” said Lalitha Anapur, former TMC leader and BJP chief.