Urban planning 'failure', pollution to be blamed for rising cases: Supriya Sule

NCP SP Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule on Thursday slammed the Pune civic administration as she blamed the urban planning failure and rising pollution for the outbreak of GuillainBarre Syndrome GBS a rare never disorder in the city reported news agency PTIThere is a need to find the scientific cause behind the prevalence of GBS cases the parliamentarian representing Baramati in Maharashtras Pune district told reportersSule demanded that the government bear all medical expenses of the GBS patients claiming the disease was prevalent due to the flawed management reported PTIShe visited a well located in Nanded village off Sinhgad Road area in Pune from where contaminated water is suspected to have been supplied to adjoining localities leading to the rise in GBS casesA 56yearold woman from Pune is suspected to have died of GBS on Wednesday while a 40yearold man from Solapur died on SundayTill Wednesday 127 suspected patients of GBS were found in Pune and elsewhere in the state as per officialsI visited the well and the nearby area to understand the current GBS situation People in the area are living in tremendous fear I am going to put forth this issue in todays district planning and development committee meeting Sule said reported PTITerming the current GBS situation as an outbreak of the disease Sule said all round efforts are needed to contain it reported PTIThe MP said she has been writing to the civic body and the state government about these localities which were recently brought under the purview of the Pune Municipal CorporationDespite the basic infrastructure such as STPs sewage treatment plants lacking permissions to new buildings and projects are being given she claimedNow the current situation of GBS is all because of urban planning failure After a few days reports from labs will be available but as of today it looks that due to urban planning failure pollution be it water air diseases are increasing and immediate steps need to be taken she said reported PTIThere is a need to find the scientific cause behind this prevalence of GBS cases by consulting experts the NCP SP working president said reported PTISule said rivers and dams are getting polluted and the government should pay heed to all these thingsThough we are in opposition we are ready to cooperate with the government on these issues she said reported PTIThe common people should not be held hostage just because your policies are flawed Sule addedThe Lok Sabha member said she has already spoken to the Union Minister for Environment Forest and Climate Change over the GBS issue reported PTIAuthorities on Wednesday said 144 water samples from different parts of the city have been sent for chemical and biological analysis to a public health laboratory and samples from eight water sources found contaminatedGBS is a rare condition that causes sudden numbness and muscle weakness with symptoms including severe weakness in the limbs loose motions etcBacterial and viral infections generally lead to GBS as they weaken the immunity of patients and in the present case the disease is suspected to have been triggered by contaminated water according to doctorsWith inputs from PTI