Several people have fallen ill and had to be hospitalised after consuming contaminated water in West Marredpally.
“Sewerage water got mixed with drinking water due to a leakage in the water pipe in a by-lane in West Marredpally. Though Water Board officials replaced the pipeline, it was already too late by then. My wife, son and I had to be admitted to hospital,” said Mr K. Rajagopal, a resident of West Marredpally, who is recuperating in a private hospital. Over 20 patients with complaints of nausea and also jaundice were admitted to hospital a week back.
Board checking all pipelines pipelines continuously
In view of the water contamination in West Marredpally, Dr Vekateshwarlu, a physician at the Secunderabad Nursing Home said, “Due to the contamination of drinking water, their bilirubin levels had gone up. Contaminated water causes hepatitis A and E.” Residents of West Marredpally said they did not know that the water was contaminated as initially the colour was normal and there was no smell.
“The colour looked the same. We did not notice any change in the taste initially but when the water was stored in bottles and containers, it started smelling. By then several of us had consumed the water,” stated a resident Shanti Narasimha Rao. Lab technician Sandeep Kumar said, “Though I stay in Ram Nagar, I drank the water in West Marredpally because I work in that area. None of my family members back in Ram Nagar have suffered. I am the only one admitted in hospital.”
HMWS&SB general manager K. Vijaya Rao confirmed that they had fixed the problem following a complaint. He said that the Board attached priority to repairing pipeline problems to prevent water contamination. “Our deputy general manager and manager got the damaged pipes near Subrahmanyam Swamy temple and Lane 4 and 5 in West Marredpally replaced. The HMWS&SB staff is continuously checking the lines because attending to water pollution complaints is a top priority,” Mr Vijaya Rao added.