Ahmedabad water contamination: 7 remain hospitalised; Amit Shah reviews situation
Health Department teams visited all housing societies where diarrhoea and vomiting cases were reported and conducted house-to-house surveys, while chlorine tablets were also distributed for water purification
Ahmedabad, Jun 4 (PTI) At least 50 persons fell sick and seven of them are currently hospitalised on account of consumption of contaminated water in Ghatlodia area of Ahmedabad city, prompting the civic body to conduct surveys and deploy medical teams, officials said on Thursday.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to state officials and took stock of the situation, as the reports of diarrhoea and vomiting outbreak in the area caused a scare, reminding the locals of the recent water contamination tragedy in Indore.
"Gandhinagar Lok Sabha MP and Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Ahmedabad Mayor Hitesh Barot regarding the diarrhoea and vomiting situation that emerged in some societies of Gota Ward in the North-West Zone of Ghatlodia Assembly constituency in Ahmedabad," a release from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party stated.
Ghatlodia falls in Shah's Lok Sabha constituency. The Union minister instructed Municipal Commissioner Banchhanidhi Pani and Health Department officials to take all necessary measures, the release said, adding that measures were being taken on a war footing to repair the pipeline.
Health Department teams visited all housing societies where diarrhoea and vomiting cases were reported and conducted house-to-house surveys, while chlorine tablets were also distributed for water purification.
"Officials have taken preventive measures, conducted door-to-door surveys, carried out chlorine testing, and deployed medical teams in the area," said Dr Bhavin Solanki, Medical Officer of Health at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, adding that 19 water samples have been collected from the area.
"Seven of the 11 affected individuals remained hospitalized on Thursday," he told PTI, adding that the situation was under control.
Technical Supervisors, Assistant Engineers and Assistant City Engineers are inspecting the condition of all existing underground tanks in various societies, said an official release.
Wherever necessary, AMC has undertaken the cleaning of underground tanks and also started supplying clean drinking water through water tankers, it added.
While local residents claimed that hundreds of people fell sick after drinking contaminated water over the last four days, commissioner Pani had stated on Wednesday that some 50 people fell sick after a breakdown in water and drainage pipelines on May 30. The fault was repaired immediately, he had said.
Rakesh Patel, chairman of Akanksha Apartment, claimed that nearly 600 residents of the apartment experienced symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting, adding that some of the patients sought treatment at private hospitals.
His mother was receiving intensive care at Gurukrupa Hospital due to severe diarrhoea and vomiting, he said.
The situation reminded many people of the scare caused by water contamination in Madhya Pradesh's Indore city in December- January. As per the Madhya Pradesh government, 22 persons died in Bhagirathpura area of the city on account of contaminated water supply. PTI