NRI writes to CM KCR over fluorosis in Telugu

HYDERABAD: As NRIs from across the globe have come to celebrate Telugu language at the World Telugu Conference in the city, Sudheer Jalagam, an NRI from Washington, US, has brought focus to the biggest problem of fluorosis in Nalgonda and Nizamabad.

A software professional, Sudheer Jalagam met chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and Nizamabad MP Kalvakuntla Kavitha and gave them a representation about the problem and what measures should be taken. Sudheer Jalagam had also written a letter to chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao earlier that a Regional Fluoride Mitigation and Research Centre at Choutuppal had been planned but it had not become a reality. Eight acre land was also allotted to the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) for the purpose of starting the research centre in 2014 itself.

“The chief minister has been provided with all information and he said he would look into it,” Sudheer Jalagam told. “The problem of fluorosis is severe. It has to be wiped out completely,” he said. As an NRI living in the US, Sudheer Jalagam said he felt it was his responsibility to be concerned about the place he hails from. “It is not enough if we NRIs are happy leading better quality lives abroad. We should be bothered about the quality of life of people living in our villages in Telangana,” he said.

Sudheer Jalagam who toured several villages in Nalgonda district said he found many people affeced by dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis – a problem that has persisted the district for decades. He said a hospital should be set up at a cost of 100 crore for treating patients in Nalgonda district. He pointed out to MP Kavitha that the problem was rampant even in Bodhan of Nizamabad district. Because of the fluoride content in water, it causes harm in the body. Victims are rendered incapable of walking. The NRI has also met several ministers urging that a corporation be set up with 1,000 cr.