Thirty-seven people fell ill at Palakuru village of Banaganapalle mandal in the district from Friday evening reportedly after drinking piped water supplied by the Rural Water Supply (RWS) department.
Department engineers and health officials suspect that sewage might have entered the drinking-water pipeline somewhere in the village, contaminating the water. Three of those taken ill were being treated in the government general hospital in Nandyal.
District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) R. Venkata Ramana told The Hindu that they received 20 complaints on Friday, with the sick getting admitted to various hospitals. Ten of them were being treated at Banaganapalli hospital and the remaining at the Palakuru Primary Health Centre. Another 17 cases (diarrhoea and vomiting) were reported on Saturday morning. All of them were under treatment. No new case was reported till Saturday evening, he said.
The village, with a population of 10,000, was being supplied drinking water from an RWS tank, which has since been emptied. Chlorine tablets have been given to houses.
Currently, water tankers are supplying drinking water to the village. Medical and Health Department has deployed six doctors and a number of paramedical staff at the village.
