Worms in supply water: Marol residents blame road repair work

  The housing society has around 11 buildings and over 200 flats in its premises. Incidentally,the problem is not noticeable in some of the flats in the complex. “Some flats which are in the remote corner of the complex have not faced the problem. The flats which are in close proximity to the pipelines are the worst hit,” said Khan.

  Though the repeated complaints of the residents led to cleaning of the pipelines,however,residents are still facing problems. The workers cut open the pipe,modified it and laid it again. But the solution is temporary as we can notice the seepage of drain water in some patches,” said Khan. “If the pipe breaks further during monsoon it will escalate the problem,” added Khan.

 The residents are taking every step to keep water-borne diseases at bay. “When the problem became severe,we started tying a muslin cloth to arrest the worms. We also boil the water. So far there has been no outbreak of any diseases but we don’t want to take any chances,” said Nair.

 According to Dr Daksha Shah,civic body’s epidemiologist cell chief,drinking infested or contaminated water can cause a horde of water-borne diseases. “Water-borne diseases like gastro,jaundice and even hepatitis can occur in people drinking this water. However,these diseases are also food-borne diseases. While the symptoms can occur in people of all age-groups,children are particularly susceptible,” said Dr Shah.

 The residents have already started the cleaning up process. “We have appointed a private body to undertake the cleaning job. Though the BMC has come to fix the pipes,a lot of the infested water has already flown into our tanks,” said Khan.

SS Korelekar,Chief Hydraulic engineer said,“We don’t know what caused the rupture of the pipelines or who undertook the work — the BMC or MMRD—but whoever is at fault we will take up the matter and fix the pipeline before the problem escalates.”

Transportation expert Sudhir Badami said such cases occur mostly when checks and cross checks don’t happen regularly. “Since there is no 24/7 water supply in the pipelines,it creates a vacuum which in turn increases the possibility of contamination. This water when released in the tanks can easily cause large-scale water contamination. The problem can be solved,if there is a thorough and regular check on leakages and ruptures,” said Badami.