It's exam time for schoolchildren and Juhu resident Larson Fernandes's six-year-old son is down with diarrhoea. "He's become very weak. Another kid in our locality is down with jaundice and many others have complained of water-borne ailments," said Fernandes, a civic activist.
Local residents say it's the water they receive in their taps that is to blame. Since almost three weeks, residents in Juhu have been receiving filthy and turbid water.
Fernandes and a few other residents approached the municipal corporation to address the problem. They also submitted water samples on two occasions over the last 20 days.
"One can't drink the water which stinks and is muddy. An officer at our civic ward office confirmed that the water is not potable but all that the staff from the water department told us was to take precaution," said Fernandes.
Residents from the locality said that the municipal employees do not bother to nip the problem in its bud. "Instead, all that the staff from the municipality's water department do is flush the water hydrants. Now matters have aggravated to such an extent that we are seeing a sharp rise in jaundice and diarrhoea cases in our vicinity," said this resident.
Another resident blamed slum patched on the fringes of Juhu locality for the water contaimination. "There are several illegal water connections which cause leakage and, in turn, contamination," said the resident.
For the budget of the upcoming financial year (2014-15), the municipality has allocated Rs 1.10 crore for detection of leakage and repairs across the city. The area has only three close-circuit television cameras which help detect leakages.
An assistant engineer from the water department of Juhu locality (K-west civic ward) said that hydrants have been cleaned so that dirty water and filth clogged in the pipeline is flushed out.
Officials from the civic ward claimed that they have tried to attend to complaints and have brought the issue to the notice of their seniors. "We have tried to resolve the problem but it keeps recurring. We have to chalk out a proper plan," said an official.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}