BENGALURU: Diarrhoea and dengue cases are on the rise in Malleswaram, thanks to the carelessness of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).
More than 20 diarrhoea cases and seven dengue cases have been reported at Manipal Northside Hospital this month; while at Rainbow Children’s Hospital, 12 complained of diarrhoea and three tested positive for dengue.
The reason is said to be the mixing of sewage with drinking water near the BWSSB pumping station.
“For the past five days, the water we get at home has been very dirty. A lot of people in the locality have fallen sick. We have stopped using tap water and are now ordering cans from outside,” said Rekha Venkatesh, a resident of 13th Cross, 8th Main.
In an apartment complex of eight families, three people were affected badly. “We saw the dirty water and closed the valve. Before we could alert everyone in the building, some of them had consumed it,” said Suresh (name changed), one of the residents.
The sump in the complex has a capacity of 6,000 litres and all of it needs to be washed out now. “We are lucky we have a borewell and a separate sump. We can consume water from that,” he said.
Cleaning a sump normally costs `2,500, but private agencies charge more to clean ones that contain sewage.
While adults have better immunity, children are the worst-affected due to the contamination. Harshith, a two-year-old in the neighbourhood, is in bad shape. “He is weak and ill. The doctors have prescribed antibiotics,” said his grandmother.
Even water purifiers couldn’t filter out the contamination, said residents.
Jeevitha Rajanna’s brother, who is in Class 6, has been ill for a week now. “It started off as high fever. After two days, we realised that it was because of the water and took him to the doctor. He has been in the hospital for three days now,” she said.
The doctors are conducting blood tests every day and suspect it might be typhoid, she said.
Adisharan G, a Class 11 student from the locality, has had to stay home for four days due to ill health. A few other people in his building are affected by fever and cough. “I spent `3,000 from my pocket to get the sump cleaned. It took two days to set everything right,” said his father Giridhar R.
While the residents allege that the sewage pipe near the pumping station broke, leading to the contamination, the officials have another explanation.
D S Dalayat, Assistant Executive Engineer (North East 1), BWSSB, said there was a block in the sewer and the sewage had gone in the opposite direction and contaminated the whole line. “We have cleared the block and applied bleaching powder,” he told City Express.
When asked about compensation for the families that suffered illnesses and the added expense of cleaning their sumps, he said, “Our job is only to clear the block and make sure the water is clean. If anybody seeks a compensation, I will refer them to the higher authorities.”