Hans News Service Pathikonda

Ina heartbreaking demonstration of grief and outrage, a father staged a protest with his 19-month-old son’s body in front of the MPDO office on Wednesday, blaming severe village sanitation issues for the child’s tragic death from dengue.

The toddler, Revanth—younger son of Narasa Naidu and Kavitha from Devanakonda mandal headquarters in Kurnool district—contracted a high fever a week ago.

Diagnosed with dengue, he was shifted to Kurnool Government General Hospital for advanced care, but tragically passed away during treatment.

A heartbroken Narasa Naidu alleged that he had repeatedly alerted the gram panchayat secretary and local staff over the past month regarding overflowing filth, foul smells, and neglected sanitation in their locality, only to be met with inaction.

Staging the protest with the child’s remains, he demanded an official inquiry and strict action against negligent personnel.

Responding to the agitation, MPDO Jyothi, CI Venugopal, EORD Gopal, and other local authorities rushed to the scene. Expressing profound grief, they assured the family that comprehensive sanitation clean-ups would be executed within 15 days and coordinated efforts launched to curb the menace of pigs and monkeys near water tanks.

While health officials noted that the direct causal link between the village sanitation and the dengue contraction remains under medical review, villagers are closely monitoring the implementation of the administration’s promises.

“What happened to my son should not happen to another child,” a tearful Narasa Naidu pleaded.