GBS outbreak in Pune residents suspect well in Sinhgad Road area is source of disease

Pune, Jan 28 (PTI) With several cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) being detected in Sinhgad Road area here, local residents on Tuesday claimed that contaminated water of a well on private land could have led to the outbreak.
Ironically, the affected areas are in a four-km radius from Khadakwasla Dam, one of the major water sources for Pune city, but locals claim there is no facility for providing them clean drinking water.
As per the Maharashtra Public Health Department, Pune has reported 111 GBS cases of which 80 are in the radius of 5 km. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reviewed the situation at a meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Untreated water is lifted from a closed pipeline originating from the Khadakwasla reservoir and stored in a well in Nanded village, residents said.
It is then supplied, without any purification process, to Kirkatwadi, Nanded, parts of Dhayari, Kolhewadi and Khadakwasla, they said.
Earlier, these villages/localities had independent gram panchayats. They were included in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in the last few years.
"Several people in our locality are suffering from stomach ailments and the key cause is contaminated water supply. Since 80 percent cases of GBS are from our area, we requested the civic administration to install a filtration plant at this well," said Umesh Pangavhane, a resident of Urbangram society in Kirkatwadi.
When the area was under a gram panchayat, water tanks were cleaned regularly, but now it does not happen, he alleged.
"We are paying taxes to the corporation but in return we are deprived of basic amenities," Pangavhane said.
Bharat Pancharya, another resident, dared PMC officials to come and live in the area for some days. "If the civic administration thinks it will be moved only by agitation, we are ready to agitate for the basic amenities. I would like PMC officials to come and live with us for one month. I doubt if they will go back healthy," he said.

There were more than 20 to 25 cases of GBS in his locality and the administration should find a permanent solution to the drinking water problem, he said.

Narendra Hagawane, former deputy Sarpanch, said there are several resorts around Khadakwasla dam, and in the absence of proper sewage systems, waste water from these resorts is released in the reservoir. The same water is lifted and stored in the well, he claimed.
Kajal Hagawane, former deputy sarpanch of Kirkatwadi, said the well was constructed 40 to 50 years ago. The PMC should reconstruct it, she said.
"The well is on the side of the road with no proper compound wall around. A wall should be erected so that it is protected from any sort of contamination," she said.
Gokul Karanjawane, former sarpanch of Kirkatwadi, also sought a filtration plant in the area.

Nandkishore Jagtap, water supply department chief of the PMC, said the land in which the well is located is a private land, but the owner allowed the well to be constructed as a goodwill gesture.
"For a filtration plant, the current location is not suitable. Currently we are continuing water supply from the same place and measures are being taken to ensure no contamination takes place," he said.
Samples of water are being checked regularly since GBS cases were first reported but so far no bacteria has been found in them, Jagtap said.
"We have been doing chlorination of water since monsoon and adequate measures are being taken to ensure that clean water is provided," he said.
Land belonging to the irrigation department has been identified for setting up water supply infrastructure, he said. "A (water filtration) plant will be set up keeping requirement for the next 30 to 40 years in mind," he said.
A suspected GBS patient had died in Solapur district earlier, making him possibly the first GBS-linked fatality in Maharashtra. The 40-year-old man is suspected to have contracted the infection during his visit to Pune.

CM Fadnavis has appealed to people to boil water before drinking.
GBS is a condition in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves. It can cause sudden numbness and muscle weakness.
Bacterial and viral infections generally lead to GBS as they weaken the immunity of patients. Doctors feel that contaminated water triggered the latest GBS cases in Pune.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)