Gandhinagar's Infrastructure Weakness Exposed in Typhoid Outbreak | India
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A recent typhoid outbreak in Gandhinagar, Gujarat's capital city, has highlighted the city's crumbling infrastructure. Leaks in water and sewage pipelines have been reported from over 20 spots, sparking concerns over water contamination. According to officials, 133 cases of typhoid were reported, with 88 active cases remaining. No fatalities have been reported. The outbreak is believed to have originated in sectors 24, 28, and Adivada, where residents have installed private water connections and laid pipelines close to sewage points. The city's infrastructure has been under strain due to haphazard growth and a lack of planning. Gandhinagar, a city planned in the 1960s, has been facing challenges in providing clean drinking water to its residents. The city's infrastructure was revamped three years ago, but the recent typhoid outbreak has raised questions over the effectiveness of these efforts. An urban planner associated with public infrastructure projects in Gujarat said, 'When water lines, sewage, and other networks are executed in silos without a unified map and sequencing, contamination risks become inevitable, even in a planned city like Gandhinagar.' Residents have expressed concerns over the quality of water being supplied to their homes. 'We used to get water for two hours in the morning and evening. Now, after this project has started, we are getting water that at times is not potable and we have to boil it before drinking,' said Yash Solanki, a resident of Sector 21. The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of the typhoid outbreak and sought a detailed report from the Gujarat chief secretary within two weeks. The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti's Functionality Assessment of Household Tap Connections State Report–2024 shows that only 31.9% of households in Gandhinagar received potable drinking water through tap connections. The recent typhoid outbreak has exposed the weaknesses in Gandhinagar's infrastructure, which needs urgent attention to prevent similar outbreaks in the future.
