300 at New Town complex down with diarrhoea amid contamination fears

Kolkata: More than 300 residents of Shukhobrishti housing complex's E Block in New Town have reportedly been down with acute diarrhoea the past three weeks, leading to hospitalisation of some, with families blaming the facility management for poor upkeep of overhead tanks that reportedly contaminated the water. Residents claimed nearly every household in E Block had at least one member suffering from stomach-related ailments.Residents suspect that contamination of the drinking water supply was the reason with some pointing at the proximity of the Kestopur canal, alleging that canal water might be flowing into underground pipelines of the complex. Doctors treating patients reportedly did not rule out waterborne infection.
A number of residents of the 522-tower complex complained of abdominal pain, vomiting and high fever. The matter came to a pass on Monday morning, when agitated residents surrounded the facility manager, demanding an answer. "Both my daughters are in hospital and doctors said the reason was contaminated water. The water smells bad and is yellowish in colour. We alerted the facility manager multiple times but to no avail," said Sudhir Mondal, a resident. "Almost every building has someone who is unwell," said Neha Gupta, an E Block resident, whose daughter is still being treated for a stomach-related ailment. "All three of us have been ill. At least 100 families have members suffering from diarrhoea and stomach infection. This can't be a coincidence. There must be contamination in water." Echoing her, Gupta's neighbour, Shabana Khatun, said, "My daughter had been down with diarrhoea for the past three weeks. My niece, who visited our home, has also been showing the same symptoms of vomiting and loose motions. My elderly mother is also showing similar symptoms."The residents lodged a complaint at the Technocity police station, following which cops visited the complex on Monday and urged the facility management to take immediate action. The facility manager said efforts were on to address the issue. "We are coordinating with the authorities concerned and taking steps to remedy the situation at the earliest," he said.But an NKDA official claimed water sample test reports till last week suggested no contamination but they would inspect again. "Routine water sample quality tests are conducted every week. Reports till last week showed no contamination in the water supplied to Shukhobrishti. But with complaints coming in, a team has collected samples from the complex and those will be tested to see if there is contamination or an internal problem in the storage system," he said. In 2024, nearly 50 residents of Shrachi Greenwood Nest in Rajarhat suffered symptoms of hepatitis A and typhoid and a test revealed the presence of coliform bacteria in the water in the housing complex.For now at Shukhobrishti, parents continue to worry about their children, elderly residents remain vulnerable, and hospital visits continue. "The authorities have promised to clean all the 141 overhead tanks. Till Monday afternoon, only 17 were cleaned. We just want clean, safe water," said another resident, whose two sons are also under treatment.