Residents of Karad and downstream villages on the Krishna in western Maharashtra had no reason to suspect the efficacy of their new drinking water network. But they are victims now of a jaundice epidemic resulting from contaminated potable water in both urban and rural areas. The outbreak has taken a toll of 11 lives and affected more than 1,300 people since it began at the end of February.
Divisional commissioner V P Rane blamed the contamination on "snags in the new system", but deputy state health director B Kamathekar says it's because water purification plants were shut down during October-November last because of a lack of chlorine of the desired quality. During the shutdown, untreated water was supplied to the unsuspecting villagers, says Pushpa Somayya, who is researching the incident.
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