YS Jagan finds a Permanent solution for Uddanam by setting up drinking water scheme

Uddanam... Known to the world for the wrong reason. A majority of people suffer here with a kidney alignment. YS Jagan Mohan Reddy government has stepped in to help the victims. Providing purified drinking water on a war footing has found a permanent antidote to the disease. The government has come up with an exceptional drinking water scheme as a permanent solution to the Uddanam kidney problem.

Uddanam village in Srikakulam district is one of the four areas in the world with kidney disease. Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Sri Lanka and Uddanam are four areas of the world's most affected by kidney disease. Numerous researches have concluded and found that the toxic factors in the drinking water are the primary cause of the kidney problem of the people here. The late Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy at the time thought that the solution to this problem was to provide safe drinking water to every family. He initiated the safe drinking water program to provide potable drinking water to the people. But with his death, the plan was shelved.

Soon after Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power, he set up a permanent drinking water project in Uddanam and has set up a research centre. The project was designed with an estimated cost of Rs.700 crores and the authorities called for tenders works worth Rs. 530 crores. Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) has come forward to do works for Rs. 527 crores in reverse tendering. This 0.60 per cent was less than the fixed price.

MEIL is planning to start works soon, and it will supply 1.12 TMC of water for drinking water needs of Uddanam area. MEIL, in collaboration with the AP government, will soon find out a permanent solution to the Uddanam problem. People in this area are will soon to get away with kidney problems. AP government officials say MEIL, which has undertaken largest projects in the world in the field of drinking water, will complete the project with quality standards within the stipulated time. In addition to Uddanam, two municipalities in Palasa and Ichapuram constituencies in Srikakulam district and Kavithi, Sompeta, Kanchili, Ichapuram, Palasa, Vajrapukottur and Mandasa mandals where the kidney victims are more prevalent.

Over 5.74 lakhs people are living in 809 habitats in Uddanam area, and they depend on the bore water for their drinking water needs. The experts found that there is a risk of kidney disease in the groundwater in the region. As the nearby Bahuda and Mahendra Tanaya rivers dry up in summer, the people of this area have left with no other option than to depend on the groundwater. MEIL is planning to bring the water from a reservoir in Heera Mandal through the underground pipeline, and the water is treated at Miliakutty Mandal with sand filters. From there, the water will fill the overhead tanks and supply to every household.