Why 100+ Children Pay The Price After Water Contamination In Gujarat’s Smart City Gandhinagar
[By Devansh Desai Mumbai Samachar Desk]
Ahmedabad: Gandhinagar has witnessed a sudden surge in suspected typhoid cases, with over 100 people predominantly children falling ill after contaminated water entered the drinking water supply. The alarming outbreak has sent authorities scrambling, prompting Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi to personally visit the Civil Hospital on Saturday.
The outbreak originated in Sector 24, Sector 28 and Adivada areas of Gandhinagar, where pipeline leakages allowed sewage to contaminate the drinking water supply. Gandhinagar is the parliamentary constituency of Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah, who took immediate note of the crisis and instructed Sanghvi to undertake war-footing measures after reviewing the situation.
Children Bear the Brunt
The human cost of this administrative failure is heartbreaking the majority of patients displaying typhoid symptoms are innocent children and teenagers. Dr. Mita Parikh, Superintendent of Gandhinagar Civil Hospital, told the media that most patients are aged between 1 and 16 years. “A separate ward has been opened in the hospital to treat the children,” she said, her words reflecting the gravity of the situation.
“Currently, all children are stable and under treatment. Patients arrived with high fever. Some are also complaining of pain and vomiting,” Dr. Parikh added. The sight of young children suffering from preventable waterborne diseases in Gujarat’s capital city has raised uncomfortable questions about governance and public health infrastructure.
Water samples collected from the affected areas of Sector 24, 28 and Adivada tested positive for contamination. “The water is not fit for drinking,” Dr. Parikh confirmed, a damning indictment of the Smart City project’s water supply system.
Government Response
Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi visited the Civil Hospital and briefed the media about ongoing efforts. “A team of 22 doctors has been deployed. The Deputy Collector has also been assigned responsibility. Amit Shah is also constantly discussing this issue with ministers and the health department,” Sanghvi stated.
He added that Union Home Minister Amit Shah has conducted three review meetings and issued instructions ensuring patients receive proper treatment and their families face no difficulties. The swift response indicates the political sensitivity of an outbreak occurring in the Home Minister’s own constituency.
Political Fallout
Congress state spokesperson Manish Doshi launched a scathing attack on the ruling dispensation, highlighting the bitter irony of contaminated water flowing through taps in a city that boasts of 24×7 water supply under the Smart City scheme.
“Gandhinagar has witnessed a typhoid explosion due to contaminated water, with over 100 people including many children under treatment at Civil Hospital. In the last three days, the positive case rate has surged by 50 percent, creating panic. The serious negligence of sewage water mixing into new pipelines laid under the Smart City project at a cost of crores has brought areas like Sector-24, 28 and Adivada under the grip of an epidemic,” Doshi charged.
The state government’s press release mentioned pipeline leakages and their repair, but conspicuously avoided clarifying what type of leakages occurred and their exact locations, fueling suspicions of a cover-up.
Preventive Measures Underway
Health officials told news agency PTI that the Municipal Corporation has launched door-to-door surveys in affected areas to contain the outbreak. Chlorine tablets are being distributed for cleaning water tanks. Residents have been urged to boil water before drinking and consume only home-cooked food advice that seems elementary yet tragically necessary in a so-called Smart City.
The Gandhinagar outbreak comes disturbingly close on the heels of a similar tragedy in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, where contaminated water led to multiple deaths and serious illnesses. In that incident, 212 people required hospitalization. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav confirmed four deaths due to the outbreak, though some reports claimed the toll reached ten.
The parallels between Indore and Gandhinagar are chilling both incidents expose the yawning gap between ambitious infrastructure projects and ground realities. Crores spent on Smart City initiatives ring hollow when children fall sick from drinking tap water in the nation’s administrative centers.
Read More: Typhoid Outbreak Hits Gandhinagar: Over 100 Sickened by Suspected Contaminated Water
As families anxiously wait beside hospital beds watching their children recover from preventable illnesses, tough questions about accountability, maintenance standards and the very definition of “development” demand urgent answers.