Kidney Ailments Linked to Water, Toddy in Maktal, Narva
Families are spending between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 a month on tests, medicines, travel and consultations — an unbearable burden for rural households.
Hyderabad: In dusty villages of Makthal and Narva mandals in Narayanpet district, dialysis has become a weekly routine for many families. Alarmed by the rising number of kidney failure cases, a six-member fact-finding team of the Human Rights Forum (HRF) visited affected villages, met patients and families, and documented what they describe as a growing health crisis.
The team found a worrying concentration of cases in Mantena Godu, Ernagunapalli and Katrev Palli in Makthal mandal, and Rayakod, Jakkannapalli and Pathar Cheda in Narva mandal. From each village, at least two patients travel two to three times a week for dialysis.
In Katrev Palli, a village of fewer than 2,000 people, at least 10 deaths due to kidney-related illnesses have been reported in the past decade. Currently, five residents are undergoing dialysis, while nearly 15 others may soon require it. HRF members said around 40 people in the village are suffering from kidney ailments, with nearly 70 per cent reportedly women.
Chinna Anja Appa, 40, a dialysis patient and father of four, struggles to breathe as he explains his ordeal. “My wife works as a daily wage labourer to support us. I spend nearly Rs 1,800 a week on travel for treatment. During summer and rains, auto fares push my monthly expenses to Rs 4,000–Rs 5,000. Medicines alone cost me Rs 4,000 every month,” he said, adding that long queues at the government dialysis centre in Makthal make survival harder.
Families are spending between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 a month on tests, medicines, travel and consultations — an unbearable burden for rural households.
Preliminary observations suggest possible links to contaminated borewell water or adulterated toddy. HRF state general secretary Dr S. Tirupathaiah said many villagers avoid Mission Bhagiratha water, fearing poor tank maintenance.
In its memorandum to the health minister and principal secretary, the HRF demanded an immediate high-level medical investigation, mass screening for kidney and liver diseases among those above 25 years, involvement of professors from community medicine, deployment of nephrologists twice a week, expansion of dialysis facilities at Makthal, and enhancement of the monthly pension for patients from Rs 2,000 to Rs 12,000.
HRF state committee member Rohith T. said travel costs must at least be reduced by providing transport facilities.
However, the dialysis centre in charge explained that the government hospital at Makthal has only five beds. As a result, patients face long queues, with some forced to travel to Narayanpet or Mahabubnagar government hospitals.
