50 take ill after drinking contaminated water in Gadag village

As many as 50 people fell ill after drinking contaminated water at Arahunasi village in Ron taluk on Sunday.

People who drank water in the village complained of diarrhoea and a few among them were admitted to a nearby private hospital.

The rest were admitted at Dr Bhimsen Joshi Government Hospital at Ron. Two of the victims were shifted to a hospital in Gadag. Though Arahunasi falls under Mallapura Gram Panchayat and has four Gram Panchayat members representing the village, cleanliness has taken a backseat.

Open drains

“The village is full of open drains. Pipes connected to the water tank in the village are broken at various places. Thus, mixing up of drainage water with drinking water is responsible for the incident,” said the residents of Arahunasi village.

The village has a population of more than 2,000 people. But dirt seems an indispensable part of the village. Open drains can be spotted flowing in front of all the homes.

Unclean tank

The water tank in the village has not been cleaned in the past six months.
Also the area surrounding the tank is unclean. Rotting garbage is contaminating the water bodies.

Even after repeated pleas by the residents, nobody in the Gram Panchayat made an effort to clean the tank, rued residents of Arahunasi.

None of the officials nor the Panchayat Development officer visited the spot, past afternoon.