COVID-19 test kits float around in Telangana, residents demand a probe

HYDERABAD :  A 40-year-old garage manager was in shock after finding large chunks of medical waste including Covid-19 testing kits in his garage at Gaganpahad in Shamshabad after the floodwater receded on Friday. 

The medical waste floated into the garage from a nearby lake, the Appa Cheruvu, along with a dead body. But Mohd Adbu Arub and his workers at the garage, were more troubled because of the waste which included PPE kits, hand gloves, tablet sheets and syringes. 

Speaking to Express, Arub said, “What are the municipal authorities doing? The government should conduct a detailed probe and take stringent action against those responsible for dumping the medical waste into the lake.” He said the body was that of a man from Nellore and was shifted immediately, however, none had come forward to clear the medical waste fearing that they would contract the deadly Coronavirus.

The locals were up in arms against the municipal body for allowing hospitals to dump medical waste in the water body. They demanded a probe into the matter as medical waste was found struck at various places in the locality. The flow of water was such that the waste was also found stuck to the insides of lorries parked in the garage.