BHUBANESWAR: Days after at least 12 students of Utkal University tested positive for jaundice, the Health department has found faecal contamination in two water samples that had been collected from the campus for testing.
Sources said out of the 19 different drinking water samples that had been collected by the Urban Metropolitan Surveillance Unit for testing, two of them have tested positive for hydrogen sulphide (H2S), indicating faecal contamination.
“Of the multiple samples collected from the suspected source, two including the sample collected directly from the deep borewell near Hostel no 7 tested positive for H2S, indicating possible faecal contamination. Contamination was also detected in the sample drawn from the water purifier in one of the common canteen serving Hostel nos 6 and 7,” said a health official.
He said the contamination detected in the water purifier could be due to the severe contamination of the source water, as the deep borewell water was also found to be unfit for use.
“Our team has informed the authorities concerned of the university about the findings. The health team is also visiting the campus regularly for monitoring. The authorities have been advised to ensure supply of safe drinking water. We have also asked them to inform Watco and take necessary steps to disinfect the water supply and identify the source of contamination,” the official said.
He added that they will also inspect whether there was any leakage from nearby septic tanks that could be contaminating the groundwater, and carry out disinfection regularly to prevent such recurrence.
Sources in the Urban Metropolitan Surveillance Unit said this was the second time such contamination had been reported in the water sources near the hostels in the last two years. There was also contamination of water in Hostel 7 in 2024, making it vulnerable to recurrence of such infection, they said.
Meanwhile, Utkal University officials refuted claims of using water from the sources that have tested positive for H2S. “The deep borewell near Hostel 7 and the water purifier from where the samples were drawn, both are not in use and out of service,” said assistant professor of sociology and media coordinator Papesh Kumar Lenka.
He said the university had already informed health officials about it and that water was being supplied to the two hostels from another deep borewell the sample of which tested negative for contamination. Besides, other samples drawn from the campus have also tested negative, Prof Lenka said.