K.S. Eshwarappa, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, has lambasted the State government for the manner in which it handled the outbreak of cholera and acute gastroenteritis, caused by the consumption of piped drinking water supplied by the local gram panchayat, in Maidolalu village in Bhadravati taluk.
Speaking to presspersons here on Wednesday, Mr. Eshwarappa expressed displeasure against H.K. Patil, Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, and K.R. Ramesh Kumar, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, for not visiting the affected village so far.
Commenting on the district administration’s decision to provide treatment at private hospitals to a few cholera patients whose health condition had turned critical, he said the senior officials of district administration told him that as the medical services at McGann Hospital, a government hospital attached to Shivamogga Institute of Medical Sciences was not satisfactory, the critically-ill had to be treated at a private hospital. “While the Health Minister makes tall claims of upgrading the quality of service at government hospitals, the officials of district administration have no confidence in the medical treatment offered at McGann Hospital. It is unfortunate that proper treatment for vomiting and diarrhoea is not available at McGann Hospital,” he said.
Mr. Eshwarappa blamed the failure to provide clean drinking water to residents in Maidolalu as the reason for the outbreak of water-borne diseases and said that though the government had installed a Reverse Osmosis water purification unit in the village, there was undue delay in commissioning it. It is palpable that the officials concerned have failed to monitor the drinking water supply system in the village, he said.
It may be mentioned here that as many as six have died and 54 were hospitalised owing to the outbreak of cholera and gastroenteritis in Maidolalu village recently.
