BENGALURU: Following the report in The New Indian Express about 30 people falling sick due to consumption of dirty water from a BWSSB pipeline, published on February 5 -- ‘30 fall sick after drinking filthy water, BWSSB unresponsive’ -- Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Chief Engineer Suresh visited the spot.
The water board officials found that contamination of water was due to an old rusty GI water pipe on 2nd Cross of Promenade Road in Pulakeshi Nagar ward in East Zone.
According to BWSSB, residents here were getting water through a 100mm diameter pipe. The pipe was broken and dirty water was seeping in, contaminating the drinking water. “The old GI pipe of 4-diameter connected to the houses has been cut, and steps taken to supply clean drinking water to all houses on 2nd cross of Promenade Road,” an official said.
The residents thanked the media for support as Assistant Executive Engineer Vinay Kumar failed to act when the matter was initially reported to him.
Residents fell sick and cases of dehydration, loose stools and other complications were reported. They approached BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath on Tuesday with a lab report from Dr BR Ambedkar Medical College, KG Halli. On seeing bacteria like E.Coli and others in the drinking water report, Girinath reprimanded the AEE at a meeting in East division and asked officials to send a notice to BWSSB for delay in action. On Wednesday, BWSSB officials fixed the issue.