The MC officials had flushed the water pipes on Friday.

originally posted on January 22, 2017

AS MANY as 180 new cases of diarrhoea were reported in Sector 18 Saturday. The diarrhoea outbreak was caused due to the consumption of contaminated water by the residents. Municipal Corporation (MC) conduced checks of the sewage pipelines to figure out the reason for the outbreak. The UT health department also collected samples of water from houses in the sector for checks.

The MC officials had flushed the water pipes on Friday. Officials said they were still trying to find the source of contamination. Over 200 cases of diarrhoea had already been reported from the sector.

Vilas Kumar, a resident of Sector 18, who complained of abdominal pain, said, “I had mild abdominal pain for the past week. I thought it’s due to the weather. I didn’t realise that the water was contaminated.” Vilas, who supplies tiffin to paying guests, said, “It’s mild diarrhoea and I hope it will be better soon.”

Ravinder Kumar, a stock trader, said, “I had fallen sick last Sunday. First my brother suffered from diarrhoea, then my mother and wife and then me. The water in the taps is still muddy. We thought we have consumed something due to which we all had fallen sick and didn’t realise that the water was contaminated.”

Director, health services (DHS), Dr Rakesh Kashyap, visited the spot Saturday. More cases of infection are reported from Sector 18-C according to the health department. Kashyap said, “Mobile ambulance provided medication to 180 fresh cases. The infected patients have reported mild to moderate diarrhoea.”

The health department conducted a door-to-door survey Friday and collected water samples from 22 households. The health department confirmed that the water samples collected were not contaminated. “The team carrying out survey visited 625 houses in Sector 18 Saturday and collected samples from eight houses. The report of the samples collected will be released on Monday,” added Dr Kashyap.

B K Dhawan, XEN, water supply, said, “The exact source of contamination has not been diagnosed yet. We are checking all pipelines to ensure there is no contamination. The residents of the area said the water was stinking but did not complain. They consumed it. After flushing of the pipes, the water is clean. We will continue to check so that city residents get clean and safe drinking water,” he added.