GMDA collects ‘contaminated’ water samples from Gurugram condo

Gurugram: A team of officials from Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) on Saturday visited Westend Heights in DLF 5 and collected samples of drinking water being supplied in the condominium, a day after more than 200 residents complained of health issues due to the consumption of “contaminated drinking water” supplied by the authority there.

At least 205 residents of the condominium alleged that they have been falling ill over the past four days — the youngest among them being a two-year-old boy, currently admitted to hospital for diarrhoea — after consuming drinking water. Most of the residents have complained of suffering from nausea and vomiting.

Abhinav Verma, executive engineer (infra II division), GMDA, said that they are examining the situation. “We supply drinking water to several other housing complexes in and around the area, but none of them reported similar issues. We have collected water samples from Westend Heights, and will send those to the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) lab — which is the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) — to find out the contamination sources,” Verma said.

Residents said the problems started on Wednesday as members of a few families reported nausea and vomiting, and the situation worsened on Thursday as more residents fell ill.

Priti Anand, secretary of the RWA, said that it appeared to be a bacterial infection. “Water samples from input and output points have been collected by the department concerned and the condominium authorities for testing, to understand the contamination source. The test reports are awaited, which will help us decide the further course of action,” she said.

The RWA members, meanwhile, said that they strictly follow all norms under the National Building Code, 2016, and guidelines for water quality monitoring as prescribed by the Central Pollution Control Board, (CPCB).

Ashok Tandon, a member of the RWA, said, “We have ordered water testing kits online and will test samples of water in underground tanks and the supply line. We will also share the reports with our residents and keep them updated about all steps being taken.”

Deputy commissioner Nishant Kumar Yadav said, “Based on the sample reports, we will take corrective measures on Monday. Health teams have conducted tests on the residents, and they were advised to take medicine and consume bottled water for now.”