MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Virudhunagar Collector to conduct an inquiry into the cause of death of an 11-year-old girl, whose father alleged that she died following a severe illness after consuming contaminated drinking water at the Sri Lankan Tamil Rehabilitation Camp in Sivakasi.
The court directed the collector to complete the inquiry within a period of eight weeks on the petitioner’s representation, which sought compensation.
Justice C Saravanan issued the direction on a petition filed by T Nathan, a Sri Lankan refugee residing at the camp in Sivakasi, alleging that after consuming contaminated drinking water at the camp, more than 40 residents, including several children, developed high fever and were treated at the Government Hospital, Sivakasi, for three days in July 2026.
However, his 11-year-old daughter, N Nijaisthana, who fell seriously ill, was shifted to the Government Hospital, Virudhunagar, where she died despite treatment on July 22.
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate R Alagumani submitted that the death was mainly due to the negligence of government officials, and said the borewell meant to supply drinking water had been dug at a location between three pre-existing septic tanks in the camp despite objections raised by residents over the health risks.
As the residents of the camp had no alternative source of water, they continued to consume the contaminated water for drinking, cooking, and other domestic purposes, the advocate submitted.
Citing public health engineering norms, the advocate stated that the CPHEEO Manual on Water Supply and Treatment, issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, mandates a minimum safe horizontal separation between a drinking-water source and any source of contamination, such as a septic tank, precisely to prevent the kind of percolation alleged to have occurred in the present case.
“Deliberate construction of the borewell amidst three pre-existing septic tanks, against the express objection of residents, constitutes a glaring violation of these norms,” he pointed out.
Referring to the Madurai Bench's order in Athipathi vs The Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare Department, dated August 21, 2023, the advocate submitted that the court had held that a refugee must be housed in reasonably decent accommodation with access to basic infrastructure and that refugees living in camps must have access to fundamental amenities such as sanitation, healthcare and clean drinking water.
The advocate further informed the court that despite the death of the minor child, no acknowledgement of fault, medical follow-up, or compensation had been extended to the petitioner or other affected residents.
As the residents of the camp, being Sri Lankan Tamil refugees without voting rights in India, had neither the political voice nor the institutional leverage to seek redress, the petitioner sought the court's intervention and adequate compensation.
Recording the submissions, the court adjourned the case for eight weeks.