Even before some tangible action has been taken on screening the population at Molakalapenta near Guntakal, where five deaths were reported due to kidney ailments and published in these columns in April, a new hotspot of similar ailments has emerged at Ayyagarlapalli in Settur mandal of Anantapur district on Karnataka border.
A visit by The Hindu team to the village brought to light the existence of a number of people with kidney ailments and that at least seven died in the past three years. The worst sufferer is Vadde Anjaiah’s family, which had to sell their land and spend more than ₹5 lakh to get the 45-year-old treated.
A crestfallen Hanumakka, mother of Anjaiah, recalls the trauma her son had to undergo while getting dialysis done, and his suffering for three months with pain, before he died leaving behind two sons. “Anjaiah had no bad habits and used to dedicate his time in the fields, going to market and looking after the family at home, but some unknown cause led to the failure of his kidneys. We took him to Tirupati, Anantapur, Ballari and Kurnool for treatment, before he breathed his last,” she says.
Anjaiah’s sons are now studying engineering in IIT Tirupati and Tadipatri Engineering College and the extended family and school teachers support them monetarily, in addition to the fee reimbursement from the government.
Chalavadi Veeresh, 35, a surveyor on contract at the Village Secretariat, is a surviving kidney patient and is undergoing dialysis once every three days under Aarogyasri spending ₹5,000 per visit. His relative Chalavadi Hanumanthappa, 70, from the same village had succumbed to a similar ailment three years ago and since he was an alcoholic people attributed the kidney ailment to his habits, says M. Prabahakar Reddy, a former MPTC member.
Unknown cause
The family members of Boya Ramanna, 40, who died in 2022 while undergoing dialysis, are unable to come to terms with his death as he had led a disciplined life with no vices and the total ailment period was only one week. Those who died in the last three years included Boya Mallikarjuna, 52, and Thippeswamy, 60. Another patient Vadde Gangadhar, 42, had been diagnosed with a kidney ailment and got treatment done two years ago and is doing fine now. He attributes his survival to early detection by doctors due to screening for some body pains.
While consumption of over-the-counter painkillers is very common in this village, there is no history of consumption of locally brewed alcohol. The village has three sources of drinking water — a Reverse Osmosiswater plant, a water supply source from Penna Ahobilam Reservoir through an overhead tank, and two borewells on both sides of the village, which according to the villagers contain high volumes of fluoride.
The villagers led by Shaik Wahid Basha had represented it to the District Collector in January this year regarding the kidney ailments, but no action has been initiated. He followed it up in April after reading about Molakalapenta incident with the Collectorate and District Medical and Health Officer, but to no avail, he says.
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