Thirty-five persons took ill in the city on Monday after they drank water suspected to have been contaminated with sewage. The residents were from Thiru.Vi.Ka Nagar, Pudu Colony and a colony along Vedapatti Road in Telungupalayam area of Selvapuram. One pipeline passed through these colonies and this was said to have supplied the contaminated water.
The residents complained of diarrhoea and vomiting and were taken to private and government hospitals.
First, all the affected residents were taken to a private hospital. Twenty residents – 14 women and six men – were later admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH). The others returned home after being given medicines from the private hospital.
Resident Medical Officer of CMCH P. Sivaprakasam said the patients were administered intravenous fluids and anti-diarrhoeal drugs. “They are all safe. They may be discharged on Tuesday after observation throughout the night,” he said. A resident of Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, Poonkodi (40), said their colony got drinking water once in four days. On Sunday, water was supplied to them. On consuming the water collected from a roadside tap, the residents felt sick. The resident suspected that the water line may have been damaged due to the ongoing road and drainage works and that waste water from a damaged sewer line might have mixed with the drinking water line.
