In a shocking incident, three people have died and 20 others were hospitalized in what is suspected to be drinking water contamination at Pallavaram under Tambaram Municipal Corporation in Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

Since the morning, residents of the Kamarajar Nagar locality complained of vomiting, stomach ache, nausea and diarrhea, and were rushed to the Government Hospital at Chrompet for treatment. While three had died, others were undergoing treatment. The deceased have been identified as Thiruvethi, Varalakshmi and Mohana Rangan.

Visuals of the water collected from the corporation taps appeared mixed with sewage and locals complained of bad odour. The three deaths had created apprehension among the residents of the area.

With the issue getting media attention, Rural Industries Minister T M Anbarasan visited the area and directed setting up of emergency medical camps and cleaning up of the area with disinfectants. Later speaking to reporters, he denied that the outbreak was due to water contamination.

“It does not appear to be that of drinking water being mixed with sewage. It might not be the cause. Investigation is on to ascertain whether the food consumed by the affected could have caused the health problem. For, if water was the reason, the entire area should be affected,” he said.

Health Minister Ma Subramanian, who visited the patients at the hospital, told the media that the cause of the deaths would be known only after the postmortem results. “While two persons were brought dead, one died at the hospital. The others are under treatment. We have sent the water samples to the Kings Institute for analysis. We could arrive at a conclusion about the outbreak only then,” he said.

Meanwhile, Anbarasan raising doubts about the food consumed by the affected as a reason had provoked a backlash with the opposition AIADMK and the BJP criticizing him.

Expressing shock at the deaths, AIADMK general Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) said in an ‘X’ post, “Water is a very basic necessity and the government’s duty is to supply it with utmost caution. This incident shows the DMK government’s callousness. The government is playing with the lives of the people.”

BJP state president K Annamalai, condemning the DMK minister’s remark, asked whether the minister and others in the DMK would come forward to drink the water if it is not contaminated. “It is doubtful whether Chief Minister MK Stalin is aware of the prevailing field level conditions. There is corruption in everything and people’s lives are lost every day,” he wrote in his ‘X’ handle.