With over 100 cases of Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS), a rare neurological disorder, recorded in Pune recently, local residents have claimed that contaminated water of a well could be the reason behind the outbreak.
The affected area is within a four-kilometre radius of Khadakwasla Dam, one of the major sources of water for Pune city. However, the locals claim that there is no supply of clean drinking water for them.
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Pune has reported 111 GBS cases as per the Maharashtra Public Health Department. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the situation at a Mumbai meeting on Tuesday (Jan 28).
According to the residents, the water is lifted from a closed pipeline that begins from the Khadakwasla reservoir and is stored in a well in Nanded village. The unfiltered water is then supplied to Kirkatwadi, Nanded, parts of Dhayari, Kolhewadi, and Khadakwasla without any purification process undertaken.
Earlier, when these villages or localities had independent gram panchayats, they were under the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
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Residents ‘deprived of basic amenities’
Umesh Pangavhane, a resident of Urbangram society in Kirkatwadi, said, “Several people in our locality are suffering from stomach ailments, and the key cause is contaminated water supply. Since 80 per cent of cases of GBS are from our area, we requested the civic administration to install a filtration plant at this well.”
The resident alleged that when the area was under a gram panchayat, regular cleaning of the tanks was undertaken. However, this was no longer the case anymore.
“We are paying taxes to the corporation, but in return we are deprived of basic amenities,” Pangavhane said.
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Another resident, Bharat Pancharya, said, “If the civic administration thinks it will be moved only by agitation, we are ready to agitate for the basic amenities. I would like PMC officials to come and live with us for one month. I doubt if they will go back healthy.”
Former deputy Sarpanch Narendra Hagawane said that several resorts that are in the Khadakwasla dam area do not have proper sewage systems and release waste water into the reservoir. The same water is lifted and stored in the well.
Former deputy sarpanch of Kirkatwadi, Kajal Hagawane, said that PMC should reconstruct the well as it is 40-50 years old.
“The well is on the side of the road with no proper compound wall around. A wall should be erected so that it is protected from any sort of contamination,” she said.
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PMC responds
Nandkishore Jagtap, water supply department chief of the PMC, said the well is located on private land, and the owner allowed it to be constructed as a goodwill gesture.
“For a filtration plant, the current location is not suitable. Currently we are continuing water supply from the same place, and measures are being taken to ensure no contamination takes place,” he said.
“We have been doing chlorination of water since monsoon, and adequate measures are being taken to ensure that clean water is provided,” he said. So far, no bacteria have been detected in the water.
“A (water filtration) plant will be set up keeping requirements for the next 30 to 40 years in mind,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)