The nondescript village of Gurla in Vizianagaram district, Andhra Pradesh, has suddenly become a political war zone for both the ruling NDA parties and the opposition party YSRCP, due to the outbreak of diarrhea and the subsequent reported deaths of around 10 persons and hospitalization of 140 persons. So far, the government has officially claimed that only one person died of the communicable disease, while others were classified as ‘natural’ deaths.
However, YSRCP asserts that the total deaths were 16 and that the disease had spread to nearby villages as well. The opposition party has taken up the issue seriously, as Gurla falls under the geographical jurisdiction of the Cheepurupalli Assembly constituency, which was represented by the Opposition leader of the AP Legislative Council, Botcha Satyanarayana, in 2004, 2009, and 2019.
According to the opposition parties, officials did not initially prioritize the incident, as many were occupied with the Vizianagaram Utsav and Sirimanotsav, which was celebrated on October 15, when the diarrhea outbreak occurred in Gurla village, located about 20 km from the Vizianagaram district headquarters. Instead of taking immediate steps to shift the patients to nearby hospitals, they were treated at a special medical camp organized in Gurla itself. Strangely, the patients were not even provided with beds, the opposition alleges.
