In Andhra city, a morning staple turns deadly Premium

Adulterated milk in Rajamahendravaram leads to five deaths and critical health issues for many, including infants.

February 16 began like any other Monday: busy and chaotic, and it was particularly so in the modest home of 31-year-old lorry driver Lova Raju and his 28-year-old wife D. Kirthi at Danavayipeta in Rajamahendravaram city. Notwithstanding their financial woes, the young couple had something to look forward to — Kirthi was in the final weeks of her second trimester and, in a few months, they would welcome their second child.

Just like the previous day and every day prior, Kirthi gently woke their 21-month-old son Rithik, who was still curled up under the sheets. After the morning routine, he was fed a cup of warm milk, purchased from a local vendor only hours earlier.

Family members of patients interacting with District Collector Kirthi Chekuri and SP D. Narasimha Kishore at a private hospital in Rajamahendravaram city.

As the day progressed and the toddler became engrossed in his play, his mother began to notice something odd. The child hadn’t urinated, which he normally did quite often throughout the day. By evening, she saw fatigue pooling thickly on his usually energetic face and felt an unease creeping into her heart. Soon, Rithik began to vomit everything he had consumed, even the glass of water that he had drunk earlier.

His panicked parents rushed him to a private hospital in the city on February 17, where doctors told them that both his kidneys had stopped functioning [acute renal failure and anuria (the cessation of urine output)] and that he needed immediate dialysis. They, however, couldn’t identify the exact cause. “Since his admission on February 18, doctors haven’t given us any assurance of his survival,” says Raju.

As of February 26, Rithik is on ventilator support, undergoing dialysis. Kirthi remains traumatised and inconsolable while a distraught Raju runs between pharmacy and the ICU door, haemorrhaging his life savings in the process.