Pic: Residents of Muddapur No.10 shared their worries regarding the orthopaedic issue during a meeting held on Sunday Ballari: Epidemic outbreaks are commonly seen during specific seasons. However, residents of Muddapura No.10 village in Ballari district are experiencing symptoms of joint pain. Youths aged about 30 years are also facing difficulties sitting on the floor and standing up. They suspect borewell water is the reason for this problem, which has spread among 5% of the population in a year. They demand the authorities investigate the reason.HM Sharanayyaswami, a priest, told TOI that many villagers aged below 40 years are struggling to climb even 4-5 steps due to joint pain. “They need help to ascend or descend steps. We have urged health department officials to conduct a study on this and suggest some remedial measures,” he added.Thimmappa Kolli, gram panchayat member, Prabhu Camp, Muddapura No.10, suspected that borewell water may be the reason for the menace. “Health officials take water samples every month for testing and say it is fine for drinking. However, we are worried about the reason as the number of orthopaedic patients is increasing in the village. Though there are Reverse Osmosis (RO) units, borewell water is not getting purified. Seeing this issue, the govt has sanctioned a multi-village drinking water project under Jal Jeevan Mission for Bukkasagar and other villages. We should get Tungabhadra water from Bukkasagar. However, the work was going at a snail’s pace and has halted now,” he alleged. He also said that there is an old pipeline from Timmalapur to Muddapura No.10, which should be replaced with a new one.Gram panchayat Muddapura No.10 has two other villages—Belagod and Timmalapur—which have already been connected with Tungabhadra river water. Muddapura No.10 has a population of about 5,000 and over 200 people are suffering from orthopaedic ailments. They are approaching doctors in Kampli and other towns nearby for treatment.Dr Arun G, taluk health supervisor, said that they convened a meeting with villagers on Sunday and are now holding a health check-up camp on Tuesday. “During our regular water testing, we did not find any bacterial infection. No case of chikungunya was traced. However, the nutritional aspect of water should be checked by the rural development and panchayat raj department,” he added.
