Visakhapatnam: A day after actor and Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan set a deadline to the state government to tackle the problem of kidney ailments in the Uddanam region at Srikakulam, which has cost thousands of lives, health minister Kamineni Srinivas Rao and labour minister K. Atchannaidu on Thursday reviewed the situation.
The health minister said that a special monitoring committee headed by the district collector has been appointed to look into the situation of so many patients with kidney ailments. A district medical and health office cadre officer has been appointed for the seven mandals that come under the Uddanam region.
Pawan Kalyan visited Itchapuram in Srikakulam district and interacted with the victims of kidney diseases and their family members. The actor set a 48-hour deadline to the government to respond to the situation.
He added that in addition to the existing three dialysis centres in the district, two more, one at Palasa and another at Sompeta, will be opened. A special vehicle will run round-the-clock to transport the kidney patients.
“There is no genetic evidence for this outbreak of kidney disease. In Uddanam region, for every 1,000 persons, 18 have kidney disease. Scientists, doctors and medical experts are also unable to find out the root cause for these kidney problems. In 1999, N. Chandrababu Naidu, who was also the chief minister at that time, had sanctioned Rs 39 crore for a protected drinking water project. However, successive governments later neglected it. At present, there are around 7,000 to 8,000 patients in the region suffering from kidney disease,” said the minister.
