Health Crisis in Assam Tea Garden: Uncovering the Root Causes

Eleven people died in Assam's Tinsukia district within ten days due to hypertension and illicit liquor consumption. Media reports suggesting cholera were dismissed. Health and excise authorities initiated interventions, and Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal called for immediate action while extending condolences to the affected families.

Eleven people have died in 10 days in a tea garden of Assam's Tinsukia district due to diseases like hypertension and consumption of illicit liquor, an official said on Thursday. Media reports attributing the deaths in Kulibil line of Tongonagaon tea garden due to cholera with diarrhoea-related symptoms were ''unsubstantiated and devoid of any merit'', Tinsukia District Commissioner Swapnil Paul said in a press conference.

''It is a fact that 11 people have died in the tea garden since May 12 but it is not due to cholera as reported in the media and they died due to various other diseases with only two of them having complained of vomiting and stomach upset,'' he said.

An analysis of the causes of the deaths pointed out that hypertension and high consumption of locally manufactured liquor are the primary reasons for their deaths, Paul added.

According to the district health officials, the deaths of nine people were caused by cerebrovascular stroke, acute gastroenteritis with food poisoning, chronic alcoholism with multiple complications, cirrhosis of liver caused by high consumption of locally brewed liquor, hypertension and cardiac complication, acute gastroenteritis, uncontrolled hypertension leading to stroke and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). As soon as the district administration received news of the deaths, a team of doctors and nurses under Infectious Diseases Surveillance Programme (IDSP) went to the tea garden and collected the rectal swabs of the victims. The samples were sent to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Lahowal for testing, the DC said.

''The report received from ICMR has no mention of cholera or diarrhoea in nine cases while in the other two samples, it was yet to be confirmed,'' Paul said. A fact-finding team visited the affected families and collected the medical history of the victims along with their statements regarding the circumstances leading to the deaths, he said.

The excise department has been directed to destroy all the dens near the tea gardens in the district where illicit liquor is being brewed and the department has also launched operations in this regard, the DC said.

The health officials are also conducting regular check-ups in the tea gardens since the incident and the garden authorities have been urged to cooperate with the district administration. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal directed state Chief Secretary Ravi Kota and the District Commissioner to take action in this regard and extended his condolences to the bereaved families.

Doomdooma BJP MLA Rupesh Gowala also visited the tea garden and directed the health officials to conduct health check-ups of the garden workers.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)