A large number of people have been suffering from kidney disease in Arjunpur village of Hardokhol gram panchayat under Sonepur sadar block,11 km from the district headquarters, due to lack of awareness and clean drinking water. The disease has hit as many as 20 villages.

Arjunpur has a population of about 700 and 80 per cent of the population belong to the BPl category. They depend on eight tube wells for their water. As per reports of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department, out of these tube wells, three dispense water, containing iron.

However, either due to lack of awareness or because of non-availability of alternative sources, the villagers still use the water with high concentration of iron.

Meanwhile, kidney disease has claimed three lives. The deceased are Sulthu Amat(66), Hira Karmi(62) and Iswar Amal(66). Still there are many who stay affected and are not getting proper treatment in the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) due to lack of specialists in the hospital. Consequently, many of them have to go to Burla for treatment.

But there are still many others who could not afford and the administration is yet to come to their rescue. The families of the persons who died of the disease didn’t get any Government assistance either, it is alleged.

Patients like Nata Padhan(60),Dina Dehury(65),Ghana Dehury(65),Gangadhar Pradhan(45),Bajrang Jal and Purna Pradhan(60) Monday met Collector Dasirathi Satpathy and Chief District Medical Officer(CDMO) Sobha Chandra Meher and apprised them of their problems.

RWSS Assistant Executive Engineer Bipin Bihari Dash admitted that the water of the tube wells is laced with iron.

However, he informed that a project to provide clean drinking water to Jampali and Arjunpur villages through over head tanks has been sanctioned. The villagers would get water once the project is over, he added.

locals demanded free health check-up camps and free treatment, besides financial assistance for the kin of the deceased.