Amaravati, Feb 25 The Andhra Pradesh government on Wednesday suspended the Municipal Commissioner of Srikakulam following a diarrhoea outbreak in the town that has left one person dead and dozens hospitalised.
Municipal Commissioner Kurma Rao was suspended on charges of negligence in connection with the outbreak, officials said.
Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration, Suresh Kumar, issued orders suspending the Municipal Commissioner.
Cases of diarrhoea have been reported from various parts of Srikakulam town over the past few days.
According to Srikakulam District Collector Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar, 76 suspected cases have been identified so far.
Of these, 54 patients are currently undergoing treatment at various hospitals, while one death involving a patient with comorbidities has been reported.
Two patients are on ventilator support, and their condition is being closely monitored by medical teams.
Authorities have collected water samples from affected areas and sent them to laboratories in Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam for testing.
While initial tests conducted at the Srikakulam laboratory did not detect contamination, reports from the Visakhapatnam laboratory are still awaited.
The Health Department has set up medical camps in the affected areas, and the state government has announced that it will bear the treatment expenses of patients admitted to private hospitals.
Meanwhile, leaders of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), including former ministers Dharmana Krishna Das, Dharmana Prasada Rao, and Dr Seediri Appala Raju, blamed the state government for the outbreak.
After visiting the affected areas, they interacted with families and reviewed the situation on the ground.
The YSRCP leaders alleged that contaminated drinking water was the primary cause of the outbreak.
They also claimed that four people have died so far and several others are undergoing treatment in government and private hospitals.
The former ministers accused the government of attempting to attribute the deaths to pre-existing health conditions instead of accepting responsibility.
Dharmana Prasada Rao said that 61 diarrhoea incidents had been reported in the past 20 months, including cases in government schools and hostels, which he described as indicative of systemic administrative failure.
He demanded immediate relief and ₹25 lakh compensation for each bereaved family.
Dr Seediri Appala Raju alleged that early warnings from local media were ignored and claimed there were attempts to underreport fatalities.
The opposition leaders demanded a high-level inquiry, accountability of officials, and urgent measures to ensure safe drinking water supply.
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