Back on streets after pandemic, Mumbaikars face scorching sun, head to stalls to beat the heat, exposing themselves to infection
People enjoy ice gola, near Shivaji Park, on Thursday. Pic/Bipin Kokate
Montly data of this year shows a rise in gastro diseases in the city, and some residents have blamed it on the water supply, claiming it to be contaminated. The BMC, however, has held roadside ice products responsible for increasing cases, saying there has been no check on the quality since the pandemic.
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For three years before Covid-19 hit India in 2020, the BMC and the Food & Drug Administration collected ice and water samples from roadside stalls and restaurants to check for contamination. The samples were always found to contain E coli bacteria that causes gastro diseases.
This year, Mumbaikars are out on the streets after a long time and are witnessing tremendous heat this summer. Most of them often resort to drinking juice from stalls to beat the heat and stay hydrated. But there have been no checks on the quality of ice and water being used at the eateries, and this could be contributing to rising gastro cases, said civic officials.
According to the data provided by the BMC’s health department, on an average 17 people have suffered from gastro diseases daily in April. BMC hospitals reported 245 gastro cases in January, 343 in February, 482 in March, and 478 until April 27. The numbers show a steady rise and are expected to be much higher, as private hospitals do not report these cases.
An official from the inspection department of the BMC said, “Collecting and testing samples is not our [BMC] job. It is the job of the FDA, but we still did it, until we had to stop due to the pandemic. It has been almost 10 months since the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions, but we haven’t received an order to resume the drive.”
A senior official of the FDA said, “In 2020, due to Covid-19 and lockdown, everything was closed, and we haven’t collected any ice samples since 2021.” Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner (food), FDA, said, “Due to Covid-19, the focus was on other issues, but now we are going to conduct a special drive in which we will collect cold drinks, sugarcane and other juice samples from stalls and all other products in which ice is used.” Dr Mangla Gomare, chief executive health officer of the BMC, said, “We are planning to collect and test ice samples next month.”
Tap water contamination?
Newton Sequeira, a resident of Bhakti Park in Wadala, said blamed gastro issues on water supply. “Entire Bhakti Park has been receiving contaminated water for several weeks. We filed complaints and cleaned our tanks, too, but the problem still persists. Our children are also suffering due to gastro infection, but BMC denies it,” said Sequeira, secretary of Odyssey housing society.
Dr Gomare said the contamination of water “supplied through taps has reduced a lot in the past few years and there are hardly any cases of contaminated water. We send water samples from the BMC’s pipelines, but sometimes there are issues with lines inside private premises or the tanks are unclean. We even send samples from such tanks for testing if we get any complaints.”
Of the 47,716 tap water samples tested in 2021-22, E coli was found in only 0.11 per cent of them, shows data. A doctor from a BMC hospital said, “We are getting three-four gastro cases daily.” Dr Purshottam Vashistha, consultant gastroenterologist, said he gets at least two patients daily. “Most common complaints are diarrhoea and food poisoning. Most of these patients find immediate relief after symptomatic treatment and hydration.”
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