Residents of parts of Kurla have allegedly fallen sick due to contaminated water being supplied to their localities. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now agreed to replace a portion of the pipeline that was rotten.
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Residents of several chawls near Kurla garden on LBS Road have been receiving contaminated water for the past 25 days. These include Naseeb Ali, Maharshtra, Habibula, Sarang and Baba Steel chawl and together they have a population of around 15,000.
“It all started around two to three weeks ago. On some days, the water was yellow and on others, pink and foul smelling. While some of us had to resort to boiling water for drinking, others had to buy 20 litre mineral water cans for drinking and washing utensils,” Parvez Khan, a resident of Sarang Chawl, said.
After several complaints, NCP corporator Dr. Saeeda Khan asked the BMC staff on December 5 to clean the underground pipeline, after which the water has become clearer and the smell has reduced. But until Thursday, the water had a tinge of yellow and an unpleasant smell.
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“We spread the word and asked residents not to use the water. The condition was so bad that we expected a few deaths if the water was consumed,’’ Abdul Gani, a local resident said.
Nazmin Shaikh, a resident of Sarang chawl said, “My kids have had diarrhoea for the past one week, even I was feeling unwell. Everyone in the house started having issues like vomiting, stomach ache. The situation got worse as even dirt particles were found in the water sometimes.”
Homeopath Dr. Parveen Khan, who is family doctor to many in the locality, said, “For the past 10-15 days, people have come with complaints of abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting and fever. I detected a pattern in the complaints and asked about the water they are consuming and got to know the situation. There has been a rise in cases of typhoid as well. A few people visited Bhabha Hospital as their condition was quite severe.”
According to Ms. Khan, the issue has already been taken up with the water department. “We had a doubt that there was a leak in the pipeline and sewer water was getting in. But when we checked it, there was no leakage, which makes it clear that the pipeline is rotten.”The entire pipeline will have to be replaced but the issue is not being looked at seriously, she said.
“There is a defunct dyeing factory near the area whose residues flowed into the pipe. The pink and yellow water helped us establish this. This pipeline is 20 to 30 years old and corroded. It needs to replaced. The work will start mostly from next week,” Rajan Prabhu, assistant engineer, Water Work cell, L ward said.
“A tendering process is underway for replacing 400-meters of pipeline. Work should start soon,” Mahendra Ubale, deputy hydraulic engineer, said.