Contaminated water claims toddler's life in JJ Nagar

BWSSB denies sewage mixed with drinking water

A one-and-half-year-old boy died on Wednesday night after allegedly consuming contaminated water at Jagjivanram Nagar.

The parents of the boy, Chandan, blame the contaminated water he drank for his death. But BWSSB officials have ruled out any chances of sewage water mixing with drinking water supplied to 8th Cross, Venkataswamy Park, Salappa Layout, where the family lives. 

Yashodha, the mother of Chandan, said her son fell ill late on Tuesday night. “He started vomiting and having loose motions. So, we admitted him to the hospital on Wednesday afternoon.” Yashodha says the doctor told them the child was suffering from infection and the cause for the infection was the water he drank. 

Though the parents as well as most residents of Venkataswamy Park suspect the death to have been caused by the contaminated water, BWSSB officials say it is highly unlikely. BWSSB Engineer-in-Chief T Venkataraju says that if the water was indeed contaminated, the whole family should have fallen sick. 

He said the parents refused to give the child’s medical report when they sought for it. He said BWSSB officials had conducted a spot inspection and found there was no possibility of drinking water mixing with sewage water. “At 7 am on Friday, water will be released again and BWSSB officials will be at the spot to check if the water is contaminated,” he said. Yashodha is inconsolable at the loss of her son. 

“He was my only son and now god has taken him away from me,” she says. Yashodha’s neighbour Adilakshmi says they now get water from the next street. She said recently two other children were admitted to the hospital suffering similar symptoms. 

“The water is very dirty as it gets mixed with sewage water” she says. Adilakshmi, pointing to the piled up garbage on the street, says BBMP men do not clear the garbage on their street. ” We have to pay Rs 100 twice a month to get the sewage chambers cleared,” says Narasimha, the father of the child.

According to another resident of Venkataswamy Park, Lingaraju, the water supply lines in the ward are 40 years old and the corporator of the ward, C S Radhakrishna, had sent a proposal to the BBMP commissioner to replace them. “So far, the Corporation has sanctioned work worth Rs 4 lakh. Only Rs 2 lakh has been spent,” he says. 

BBMP officials visited the area and collected water samples after the corporator raised the issue in the council on Wednesday.

On the street where Yashodha gets water from, residents collect water from shallow tanks.

There is dirty stagnant water in the tank and according to Sushma, a resident of the street, this water flows back through the pipes and mixes with water being supplied to the other houses. Chamarajpet MLA Zameer Ahmed has announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 to Chandan’s family.