Three dead, 79 ill due to contaminated water in Maharashtra

SOLAPUR - Two men and a woman died after drinking suspected contaminated water and 79 others were hospitalised in the past two days in this Maharashtra town, an official said Sunday.

“We are still investigating the cause of the deaths, whether these were due to drinking contaminated water or some other causes. Meanwhile, we are sending people of the Kranti Nagar slum areas for medical check-up,” Anil Vipat, the Solapur Municipal Corporation deputy commissioner, told IANS.

He said that until the exact problem could be identified and tackled, the civic agency has shut off the water supply to the Kranti Nagar area and was supplying water through tankers for the 7,000 residents.

The residents were rushed to hospitals after they complained of vomiting, giddiness, loose motions and other symptoms.

He said there have not been any complaints from any other area of the city which has a population of around one million and falls in the home district of Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde.

Vipat said initial investigations by officials indicated a drainage pipeline in the slum had got clogged and the water from there could have seeped into the drinking water pipelines in that area.

“Work is on to clean up the choked drains, examine water samples from the area and then restore the regular water supply,” Vipat said.

The city gets its regular water supply from three reservoirs - Ujni, Toregaon and Bhavanipeth - on the outskirts of the city.

Vipat said that Saturday and Sunday, officials also tested samples from these three water sources to check for any contamination, but the samples did not indicate they were contaminated.

He further said that of the 79 people admitted to various hospitals, around 31 continue to be under treatment, but none are critical.

Solapur is some 450 km from Mumbai.