More than 100 deaths in two months in Tamil Nadu due to “cardiac arrest” have flabbergasted medical fraternity in the country. If news reports appearing in a section of the media in Tamil Nadu are to be believed, a dozen farmers die daily in the State shocked over the withering of their crops due to draught and non-availability of water. If the reports are true, Tamil Nadu could be facing a new medical challenge in the form of mass death as a result of crop failure, opined medical doctors.
Banner headlines in some of the newspapers on the New Year day shocked the readers. “Eight Nagapattinam farmers die in 24 hours,” screamed one headline. The daily quoted the kin of the deceased as telling that wilting crops, mounting debt and uncertain future led to the deaths. A pro-CPI(M) newspaper reported on Sunday that our farmers died in Thanjavur district on Saturday due to “stress caused by mounting debts as a result of crop loss.”
“This is bunkum and should not be taken at face value,” Prof BM Hegde, renowned cardiologist and medical scientist told The Pioneer. “It is unbelievable. These reports are published with ulterior motives and a thorough probe should be ordered into the causes of the death. I can understand one or two persons dying of cardiac arrest in a single day in a district. But the quantum of deaths reported by these newspapers do not synch well with medical science,” said Prof Hegde, former vice-chancellor of Manipal University.
Kumarasamy Thangaraj, senior scientist, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, also felt that this is a development which needed comprehensive study and investigation. “More than hundred deaths in two months and all due to cardiac arrest is a phenomenon which has to be scientifically probed,” said Dr Thangaraj, a genetic scientist.
The ruling AIADMK, had issued a release immediately after the passing away of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa that 500 party cadre died in the State following her hospitalisation and demise. The party had declared a solatium of Rs3 lakh to the next kit of each of the deceased.
Till now, nobody has questioned the claim by the AIADMK leadership that more than 500 persons died with broken heart due to Jayalalithaa’s death. The Tamils take pride in the fact that they are known for their valour and boldness.
The compensation amount doled out by the AIADMK could have made the villagers to think that the drought like situation is an opportunity to make some fast cash in the form of compensation offered by the government. All political parties except the AIADMK vie with each other in demanding compensation to the farmers. They have demanded amounts ranging from Rs15 lakh to Rs25 lakh for the families of each of the farners who lost their lives.
“There are many among the dead farmers who do not own a piece of land,” said a PMK leader.
It is true that a drought like situation prevails in Tamil Nadu, especially in the five districts lying along the banks of River Cauvery, the State’s life line. The failure of south west monsoon in 2016 resulted in the river not getting replenished and Karnataka itself facing shortage of water.
“But the tragedy is that the Dravidian governments which were ruling the State for the last 50 years have not done anything to address the water crisis. All they did in the past was to seek financial assistance from the Centre in the name of draught relief and pass on the compensation to the farmers under the pretext of some scheme or other. No permanent solution has been devised to take on draught, a recurring phenomenon,” said Tamilissai Sounderrajan, Tamil Nadu BJP chief.
Sounderrajan has submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister O Panneerselvam siting the instances she took note during her visit to the Delta districts.