Contaminated water from four borewells in Bhiwandi has triggered a spate of gastroenteritis. The Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC) has sealed the borewells. Two were dug by BNMC and the other two by a local resident, Mamuchi. Prakash Borse, civic commissioner, Bhiwandi said, “Laboratory tests of water sample collected from the borewell have showed that it contained gastro viruses,” Borse said. “We have increased the tanker water supply,” he said. The drinking water is provided by the civic body tankers, but for other purposes, residents use water from these wells. As many as 100 people have taken ill in the past 3 days and health officials are afraid that the infection might spread in the next two days.
The matter came to light on Sunday afternoon, after 20 people from the Mansurabad area of Bhiwandi complained of vomiting and dysentery and were admitted to the Indira Gandhi Memorial (IGM) hospital. Two children, Ishak Ansari, 2, and Amin Hamid Khan, 9 months, died during treatment, while the others are still undergoing treatment. Eighty others were treated at different hospitals till late on Sunday night.
All the patients were from Mansurabad, Ramnagar and Gayatrinagar areas, which come under BNMC water distribution system.
Dr KR Kharat, chief medical officer, IGM Hospital, said that till Monday, 20 patients were still being treated at the hospital. “All patients are out of danger, ” he added.
BNMC has decided to lodge a complaint against a private borewell owner who was selling water in the slums.
