A preventable disaster has gripped Andhra Pradesh’s Rajamundry, where adulterated milk has claimed 12 lives amid ongoing hospitalizations. The most recent casualty, 73-year-old Senapati Ramlakshmi, died Sunday from acute renal failure linked to the toxic batch.
Health officials pinpoint ethylene glycol contamination from a malfunctioning freezer as the culprit, affecting about 20 residents since mid-February. Three children among nine survivors cling to life in intensive care.
Symptoms emerged as urinary obstructions and kidney agony, first highlighted by the February 22 death of 76-year-old Tadi Krishnaveni. As her body was transported, relatives connected the dots to parallel cases across hospitals.
Rajamundry police launched a probe post-complaint, dispatching samples—blood, milk, curd, and supplier equipment—to forensic labs. Results exposed negligence at Varalakshmi Milk Centre, operated by Ganeshwar Rao from Narsapuram.
Rao aggregated milk from dozens of farmers, stored it in leaking containers sealed hastily with M-Seal after customer complaints of bitterness on February 15-16. This DIY fix contaminated the supply destined for local neighborhoods.
Forensic consensus attributes the fatalities directly to ethylene glycol ingestion. The prime suspect, arrested and remanded, spotlights vulnerabilities in informal milk distribution networks that demand immediate regulatory intervention.