Over 350 people protested water contamination outside R-Central ward office Friday. The ward comprises Borivali and Kandivali. More than a 100 societies in Gorai Khadi have been receiving dirty water for the past 15 days and around 25 people have fallen ill in the past two days. Corporater Shivanand Shetty blamed it on decaying pipelines. Hard water is eating pipelines. Shetty said blocked pipes was a recurring problem in the area for the past year and a half,contamination was recent. We complained to BMC a number of times but there is no action. BMC blames the water department and vice-versa. Kirti Wagila (3) was hospitalised for diarrhoea Friday morning. Her grandfather Jagdish said: Tap water is muddy and emits a horrible stench. Most residents here are middle class and cannot afford bottled water. BMC needs to act quickly. After the Friday protest,the corporation promised to change water connections within eight days. Residents,however,are not convinced. Changing water connections will not help,the problem is in the pipelines, said Wagila. Mangesh Shivale,assistant engineer for water works in the ward,denied pipelines were corroded. Pipelines are built to last 50 years. Those in Borivali are only 25 years old. Shivale said repairs were on and cameras were being installed to spot leaks and cracks. mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com
