The supply of contaminated water has left the residents of Pashan concerned for the past month. The impact of the contaminated water supply has increased, with an uptick in cases of throat ailments and diarrhea reported among citizens. Numerous complaints have poured in from the housing societies, residential complexes, and settlements in areas including Pashan. Residents have reached out to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) but their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.
Residents speak up
Kiran Patil, chairman of Atharva Ganga Society, Pashan, pointed out, “There are 150 flats in our society and around 20-25 people in our society are complaining of diarrhea, vomiting, and other gut-related diseases. We raised a complaint to PMC on June 5, and till now our issue has not been solved. The PMC's sheer negligence has led to our suffering. Three days ago, we reached out to them again but we didn’t get any response. The children and elderly are largely falling sick due to the contaminated water. We even conducted water tests by private agencies and the report shows that coliform and Escherichia coli were found in the water, making it unfit for drinking. The water has a foul odor and tastes different.”
Another resident, Vikas Bhosale, said, “We got the water tested and found out that the water is not bacteria-free, and because of that many families are complaining of stomach ache and diarrhea. My kids recently fell ill due to contaminated water. We got the water tested in a laboratory and the report was positive. The water that we are consuming comes from the corporation connection and is not bacteria-free. We have reached out to the concerned authorities but nothing has been done and our problems remain the same. The situation may get even worse during the peak of the rainy season. We urge PMC to take corrective measures as soon as possible to treat the water.”
Akhil Nikam, speaking to Free Press Journal, highlighted, “The situation of impure drinking water in this area has remained the same for the last 8-10 days. We reached out to PMC and nothing has been done yet. We have also reached out to the corporator from our area, and he has assured us that he will escalate it to the civic body and get it done soon. My daughter and I were on antibiotics due to a stomach infection. The problem is not just in Pashan but also in other areas like Sai Chowk in Pashan, Sus Road, and some areas of Someshwadi.”
PMC said this
Nandkumar Jagtap, water department head, PMC, said, “We haven’t received any complaints regarding water contamination. The regular cleaning is being done, the water is being treated, and there must be some contamination at a local level. We will send our team to check the situation in the Pashan area. But we haven’t received any complaints from any other part of the city so it can be mainly because of some issue at a local level. Now that I’m aware of the situation I’ll send my team and get it fixed.”
