New Delhi: Residents of south Delhi's Gulmohar Park, already suffering from intense heat, are now facing a severe water crisis. Many households report receiving foul-smelling, contaminated water that appears mixed with sewage, making it unfit for drinking and daily use. Over the past few days, several children have fallen ill with vomiting, diarrhoea, and fever, raising serious health concerns.
Residents Voice Concerns
Rajiv Chandran, a resident, said, “The water coming from taps smells foul and changes colour frequently. Sometimes it is dusky, sometimes yellow and at times even black. Children have been falling ill.”
Residents told Times of India they are now dependent on water tankers and packaged drinking water, and are also spending money on repeated cleaning of their underground and overhead water tanks. Low pressure and one-time daily supply have worsened the situation in some parts of the colony.
Impact on Daily Life
Another resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “We have been facing this issue since Monday morning. Since then, we have stopped cooking at home because there is no clean water available for cooking. We are surviving on food that was already prepared.”
“For now, we are managing with the water stored in our underground tank, but it will last only till Wednesday. After that, we will have to call for a water tanker. We will also have to look for alternatives like ordering food or eating outside,” he added.
A different resident noted that large quantities of stored water had to be discarded after contamination was noticed. “We had to throw away stored water from containers of 25 litres, 5 litres, 1 litre and even nearly 100 litres because the water had turned dirty and foul-smelling,” he said.
Health Crisis
Swati Aggarwal, another resident, reported that her daughters, aged four years and five months, fell sick. “They were vomiting, had diarrhoea and intermittent fever for the past two days. One of them had to be taken to the emergency ward. She is slightly better now,” she said, urging authorities to address the matter immediately.
Scope of the Problem
The issue was reported from several houses in A, B, C, and D blocks of Gulmohar Park. Some residents said they have been facing similar problems for the past one week, while others claimed they started receiving contaminated water only for the past two days. There was no immediate response from the Delhi Jal Board when contacted.
