Residents of Vijayawada say murky water supplied by VMC claimed nine lives

Residents blame Vijayawada Municipal Corporation for diarrhoea deaths, demand clean water supply, compensation, and transparent investigation.

Family members of the victims who died due to diarrhoea and the residents blamed the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) authorities for giving different reasons for the deaths.

“In the last few days, nine persons died with symptoms of vomiting and loose motions. But, the VMC officials were making different statements about the deaths and were misleading the government,” said Danny, a resident of Ayodhya Nagar.

Women alleged that they had been getting bad-smelling, dirty water (almost drainage water) full of dust for the last few months. In many places, the pipelines were damaged, and drain water was entering the drinking water pipelines. Despite many complaints, locals of the Vidyadharpuram area alleged that there was no response from the VMC engineering department officials.

“We lost our breadwinner and suffered in shock. Many colonies were unhappy with the sudden deaths in Moghalrajpuram and other areas. But, the municipal officials, instead of consoling, were criticising us, stating that the deaths occurred due to illness and other reasons,” said the family member of a victim.

In many areas, taps produced coloured water with a bad smell. Though the issue was brought to the officials’ attention, they did not respond, the residents, who displayed the dirty water in buckets and bottles, alleged.

Residents of Payakapuram, Anjaneya Vaagu Centre and other areas demand the government to replace the old pipelines with new ones and supply and protect them from diseases.

“More than 100 patients were undergoing treatment in government and private hospitals. The majority of the victims were daily wage labourers working in unorganised sectors. But, how can the municipal officials say there was no diarrhoea in Vijayawada, and the death occurred due to some other reasons,” questioned a woman, Rajini of Fakeergudem.