Drains spew cholera fear

Megha Chaturvedi

Residents of Do Taki, Bombay Port Trust, wake up to a grim reality every morning. With choked drains, overflowing gutters and leaky water pipes, almost every third person here is suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting, which could be symptoms of cholera.

Azeem Aadam, who has lived in the area for 45 years, says, “This place is exposed to many diseases due to the clogged sewers. The pipes have sprung leaks and so the water gets contaminated. Children play in this filth and pick up germs.”

Residents of Mohammadi chawl, Do Taki, have reported numerous cases of stomach ache and vomiting. With symptoms of fever and nausea, Mohan Somlay has not been able to eat for several days. He has been examined by a local doctor who has asked him to be hospitalised. “Most people in our building have just been treated or are in the hospital. We all have the same symptoms,” he says.

Somlay’s wife Savita, a domestic servant, is fed up. “The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has done nothing. The drains are open and blocked and are a breeding ground for mosquitoes,” she says, adding, “My husband throws up as soon as he eats and he has a high fever. The medicines are not helping.”

Like Savita, most residents hold the BMC responsible. “The common man always suffers because of the BMC’s inefficiency,” says a local, on the condition of anonymity. “If the BMC had cleaned the area and taken the necessary precautions, diseases such as dengue wouldn’t have spread.”