A mystery disease has hit Andhra Pradesh's Eluru town this weekend, with over 200 people falling sick with symptoms such as nausea, fainting and signs of fits. The incident in the One-Town area triggered panic among the city residents as talk of a mysterious disease afflicting people spread.All of a sudden, some people reportedly fainted in South Street, East Street, Ashok Nagar, Arundhati Peta and other parts of the town, putting the health department and the West Godavari district administration on high alert. Having learnt about it, Deputy Chief Minister (Health) Alla Kali Krishna Srinivas (Nani) rushed to the hospital and enquired about the condition of the patients. Later, speaking to mediapersons, he said there is nothing to worry and the situation is under control.
“All medical treatment is being extended and the patients are getting stabilised. The health staff have conducted tests and a door-to-door survey to find out the cause of the ailment. Water samples have been collected for analysis. An emergency ward has been set up in Vijayawada,” he said. Meanwhile, locals blamed the negligence of municipal corporation authorities in controlling pig menace and ‘contamination’ of water in the town. Later in the night, District Collector R Mutyalaraju reviewed the situation and directed the health department to keep 100 beds ready in Eluru Government General Hospital and 50 in Asram Hospital to meet any emergency situation. Former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and TDP national president Chandrababu Naidu expressed concern that hundreds of people were suffering from serious illness in Eluru. He also criticized the Jagan government for not providing safe drinking water to the people. He alleged that the government's irresponsibility is responsible for the pollution of drinking water and that the lives of the people seem to be miserable. Earlier, TDP national general secretary Lokesh had responded to the same issue. It has been criticized that people have fallen ill due to government negligence.