9-yr-old girl dies from water contamination in Karnataka

A nine-year-old girl, who was rushed to the taluk hospital on Thursday, due to vomiting and diarrhoea, caused by contaminated drinking water, died a while later.

Nirmala Erappa Belagal was a native of Bijakal in the taluk and a Class IV student. Several residents of Bijakal have taken ill after drinking contaminated water. This is the second such death reported in the region in three days.

Nirmala’s parents are said to have migrated to Kerala. Her relative has lodged a complaint with Kushtagi police, saying the child had died due to consumption of contaminated water supplied to the village. Taluk health officer Dr Anand Goturu said, quoting parents, “The girl was suffering from vomiting and diarrhoea for the past two to three days. Timely medical intervention would have saved her life. But the guardians brought her to the hospital late.”