12 new poisoning cases in Yavatmal

Yavatmal: Twelve new cases of pesticide poisoning were brought in at rural hospitals in Yavatmal on Monday. Five of these cases were referred to the GMCH, Yavatmal, taking the number of patients undergoing treatment there to 24. No casualty has been reported from any part of the district, though 9 patients at the GMCH are in a critical condition and one is on ventilator support. One patient was discharged.

According to acting dean Dr Manish Shrigiriwar of Yavatmal GMCH, two patients have been sent to Nagpur GMCH. The death toll in the district remained at 21. "The GMCH has so far treated 468 patients of pesticide poisoning since July," he said.

Meanwhile, four blood samples of pesticide poisoning patients were sent to the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at New Delhi for toxicology tests. Earlier, 43 samples were sent to Amravati lab for tests, but all of them tested negative for pesticide poisoning. Experts said the reason behind the negative result could be because the farmers had already been administered antidotes, which might have minimized the presence of pesticides in their blood.

No new poisoning cases were reported from Chandrapur and Akola districts. The patients referred from the Yavatmal GMCH have been kept under observation at the Nagpur GMC.

Congress demands Rs10 lakh relief

The district Congress unit took out a massive rally which was led by AICC general secretary Mohan Prakash, MPCC president Ashok Chavan, former minister Manikrao Thakre and others. The Congress leaders submitted a memorandum of demands to the collector and demanded Rs10 lakh each compensation to the kin of pesticide victims. The leaders also visited the GMC and inquired about the health of the patients there.