Water supplied to a society in Sector 70A has been declared unfit for consumption by the state health departmenton Wednesday.The tests followed complaints from around 60 to 70 residents who reported health issues such as diarrhoea, stomach infections and frequent vomiting over the past week.
The Palra primary health centre collected multiple water samples from households of BPTP Astaire Garden on December 12. The report revealed the presence of seven colonies per 100 ml of water under Class I Presumptive Coliform Count (PCC), indicating significant microbial contamination.
To be sure, the ideal coliform count for safe drinking water should ideally be zero.
Residents alleged that the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) did not supply water on December 3 and 4. “In response, the builder, arranged water tankers for the residents to provide drinking water to the society,” said Aruni Shukla, RWA general secretary of BPTP Astaire Garden.
Earlier, on December 15, HT had reported that 10 to 15 residents had been hospitalised after drinking contaminated water. “We began receiving complaints about stomach infections and vomiting in our society group, with several residents reporting similar symptoms. By December 8, the number of affected people had increased. Even my younger child who is two and a half years old fell ill, and we had to take him to the doctor,” said Shukla.
“In that week, we also noticed that we have been getting foul-smelling water that is dark yellow and blackish in colour. We definitely got an idea that this water was not fit for consumption. While several residents switched to packaged mineral water, some residents drank the tap water and fell ill,” said Vivek Sharma, another resident.
“Coliform contamination in drinking water is unacceptable and dangerous. Families, especially children and the elderly, have suffered immensely. We demand immediate accountability, compensation and permanent fixes from the builder,” said Jaswant Rao, RWA president.
“The contamination may have come from the water tankers. Since the builder has not handed over the society to the RWA, maintenance remains their responsibility,” Shukla said.
The GMDA water testing report, which analysed inlet water samples collected on December 11, found the supply to be clean and safe for drinking. Abhinav Verma, executive engineer at GMDA, said, “The report confirms that the water from our network is completely fit for consumption. The contamination did not come through our supply. If it had, other societies would have reported similar cases,” he said.
When asked about the water shortage on December 3 and 4, he confirmed, saying, “There was a supply cut on December 3 and 4.”
Residents also reported that a health camp was organised by the state health department on December 13. Dr Jai Prakash Rajliwal, district immunisation officer, said, “During the camp, a few cases of diarrhoea were reported. We advised residents to clean their underground and overhead water tanks to prevent further infections. The presence of coliform bacteria in water can cause stomach infections and diarrhoea among those who consume it.”
When asked about the matter, Shyam Sundar, MD of BPMS, representing the builder said, “The health department’s observations relate to water samples drawn from individual unit-level storage/tank points, which are maintained by the respective unit owners. Source-level testing of tank water by the health department has shown satisfactory results, and several individual unit tank samples have also tested clean. Non-optimal results were from a few cases where tanks may not have been cleaned regularly.”
“We arrange borewell water tankers through nearby local vendors. As a standard operational protocol, any water received at site is subject to routine quality checks, including TDS testing. It is also important to clarify that no water has been received from any external sources at the site over the past ten days,” said Sundar.
Residents have said that they will take the matter to the district commissioner and other higher authorities, demanding a thorough investigation into the contamination and strict accountability from the builder and responsible agencies.