NOIDA: Dozens of residents, including children, have complained of vomiting, diarrhoea and fever after sewage got mixed with the drinking water supply in Greater Noida's Sector Delta 1. On Wednesday, teams from GNIDA and the health department inspected the area, repaired the leak and distributed medicines, ORS, glucose and anti-inflammatory antacids. The authority also collected water samples from the area for tests.
Residents fear an Indore-like tragedy that claimed multiple lives and left over a hundred hospitalised, and have demanded better monitoring, citing repeated leakages in its three-decade-old pipelines and substandard quality of supply water.
Leak plugged & sample sent for test, says GNIDA GNIDA assistant manager (water dept) Manoj Choudhary told TOI that a dilapidated section of a water pipeline in Block C was found leaking and was repaired immediately by Wednesday afternoon. He said inspections were also carried out in other parts of the sector, where two additional leaking pipelines were identified and replaced. "We checked the quality of water supply post repairs in the evening, and found it to be normal," he said.
Dr Narayan Kishore, CMS, CHC Kasna, told TOI that they received information from RWA members on Wednesday morning, following which a medical camp was set up. "Around 30 people visited the doctors, of them five to six were given medicines, while others were advised ORS. The situation is under control, and if required, we will organise another camp tomorrow," he said.
Also read | Drains choked, brave sewage pools to get across roads in Greater Noida Residents, however, said cases of diarrhoea began emerging since Monday.
Pramod Bhati, RWA president of Sector Delta 1, claimed that so far, about 12 people have taken ill, including some children aged between 12 and 15 years. "Almost all are residents of Block C, where the pipeline ruptured a couple of days ago, and they have complained of vomiting, fever and loose motions," Bhati said.
He claimed that this was the third water pipeline damage reported within a week in a sector that houses around 20,000 people across its six blocks, A to F. "Last week, a similar leakage was reported in Block F."
Rukmani Singh (42), a resident of Block C, who has been suffering from a stomach infection since Monday, told TOI, "I felt uneasy at first and immediately suspected the water. Soon after, I had loose motions and became very weak," she said. Her condition has improved slightly, but she has been on medication after her husband took her to a private doctor. Four of her neighbours, Vinod Kumar, Surendra Sharma and Vijay Thakur, all in their late 40s, and Drati Sharma (12), developed similar symptoms.
Also read | Mom dies, girl lives: Did packaged water make all the difference? According to residents, blocked sewer lines in the area had been diverted into a drain, allowing sewage to seep into a leaking water supply pipeline that runs through the same channel.
Rishipal Bhati, a resident of Sector Delta 1, said that while Greater Noida is being projected as an industrial and investment hub, basic civic amenities continue to lag.
"Instead of repairing the blocked sewer line, it was diverted into a drain. The uncovered manhole allowed dirty water to seep into an old, leaking water pipeline, contaminating the drinking supply. How would anyone feel knowing the water they drink and bathe in is mixed with feces? We pay our bills, yet are forced to use contaminated water," said Deepak Kumar Bhati, convenor of the sector's RWA.
Choudhary urged residents to report any water or sewer leakages, assuring priority repairs. He said water department teams are working continuously to maintain supply lines and that pipeline replacement proposals were being prepared, primarily for older sectors or areas facing persistent problems.
With inputs from Ayantika Pal