SMC to give Rs 1L each to kin of six deceased

Surat: Body of a four-year-old boy, who had died due to gastroenteritis was exhumed on Wednesday in presence of sub-divisional magistrate for medical examination. The boy was among the six who had died over the past week, after drinking contaminated water from the water pipeline in Kathore village near Surat city.
“Forensic postmortem of the body will be done to find out the exact cause of death,” said a police officer at Kamrej police station.
Meanwhile, the Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) announced a compensation of Rs 1 lakh to kin of each deceased. The civic body also said it will pay for the expenditure of treatment over 70 who were affected by drinking the sewage-laced water.
Police registered a case of accidental death case in connection death of six persons who died due to severe gastroenteritis in Kathore. Earlier, SMC claimed that only four persons had died, but a detailed investigation revealed that a total of six had died due to the infection.
“SMC will pay compensation the kin of each deceased and treatment charges of those who took treatment in private hospitals,” said Banchhanidhi Pani, SMC commissioner.
“We are making necessary changes in water supply infrastructure to prevent such an incident in the future,” said an SMC officer. The water contamination was caused due to mixing of sewage water in drinking water pipeline.