Residents fall ill after consuming contaminated water in Ghatlodia, over 30 hospitalised

A situation similar to the recent water contamination incident in Indore has emerged in Ghatlodia. According to residents, more than 500 to 600 residents in the Gota and Thaltej areas have reportedly suffered from diarrhoea, vomiting, and other illnesses after consuming contaminated drinking water, triggering panic among civic authorities. 

Residents had been complaining to the Amdavad Municipal Corporation (AMC) for nearly four days, but alleged that officials failed to take the issue seriously, allowing the situation to worsen. Over the past two days, several patients had to be shifted to hospitals in 108 ambulances for treatment.

According to complaints from residents, more than 700 people in Akanksha Flats in Gota have fallen ill over the past four days. More than 100 residents of Vande Mataram Flats have also reportedly been affected. Similarly, around 200 residents of Navratna Avenue Apartments and over 50 people from Vinayak Bungalows in Thaltej have suffered from diarrhoea, vomiting and related ailments.

As the outbreak intensified, angry residents staged protests, prompting the mayor and other civic office-bearers to visit the affected areas. Teams from AMC’s health and engineering departments were also deployed, and emergency measures were initiated to resolve the contaminated water issue. However, residents alleged that neither newly elected municipal councillors nor AMC officials had visited the area until the situation became critical, fuelling public resentment.

Residents of the affected localities alleged that the problem began last Friday. They said the drinking water had a foul smell and appeared muddy. Housing societies initially cleaned their own water tanks, but the problem persisted. They then informed the municipal authorities, but officials allegedly did not treat the complaints seriously, resulting in the outbreak spreading further.

According to sources in AMC's engineering department, a leak had developed in a drinking water pipeline near Janta Nagar Crossing. During repair work, officials discovered that a nearby sewer line was also damaged. The sewer line was repaired first, but during the maintenance period, sewage water reportedly entered the drinking water pipeline, contaminating the supply. Critics have blamed AMC engineers for failing to anticipate and prevent the contamination during the repair process.

The opposition Congress accused the BJP-led administration of failing to manage Ahmedabad's civic services effectively. The party claimed that 30 to 40 people are still undergoing treatment in private hospitals. Children, women and senior citizens were among those affected by diarrhoea and vomiting. Congress further alleged that residents have been forced to spend money on purchasing packaged drinking water because the civic authorities failed to provide safe drinking water.