Member of Parliament representing Araku constituency, Gumma Thanuja Rani (YSRCP), has written to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) over the deaths of tribal students from drinking contaminated water. The MP even called for a high-level inquiry into the deaths of the students in the residential school of the Parvatipuram Manyam district of Andhra Pradesh.
Rani alleged that the state government is neglecting the health and welfare of tribal children. The crisis stems from a jaundice (Hepatitis-A) outbreak at the Kurupam Tribal Welfare Girl’s School and other tribal hostels.
She states in her letter to NHRC that 170 young tribal girls have fallen ill and many more have lost their lives. Some sources mention 11 deaths over the preceding five months.
The YSRCP delegation, led by Thanuja Rani, claimed that the outbreak was caused by contaminated drinking water, alleging that water was sometimes mixed with human waste and that RO (Reverse Osmosis) plants established by the previous government have not been maintained.
The MP and her party have accused the ruling TDP-NDA alliance government of gross negligence and a failure to ensure hygiene and timely medical attention. Former Deputy Chief Minister Pushpasrivani went so far as to term the deaths "State-sponsored murders".
On Sunday, a delegation of YSRCP leaders met the Chairperson of the NHRC, V Ramasubramanian, in New Delhi. They urged the NHRC to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the incident and ensure accountability for what they called a "humanitarian tragedy".
The delegation also sought an ex-gratia payment for the victims' families and immediate medical screening of all students in Gurukul and Ekalavya schools.
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