Amid the outbreak of Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) in Pune district, citizens in Pimpri-Chinchwad have alleged that they were not getting purified drinking water. This allegation was further boosted when a fake message circulated on social media which claimed that the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) was supplying unpurified water to the citizens. The message read, "The municipal corporation has requested the citizens to drink water after boiling. The filter at the water purification centre has developed technical issues and it will be resolved in the next 3-4 days. Until then, the civic body will release water without purification. Please share this message with your family and friends."
Responding to this, PCMC Commissioner Shekhar Singh said the allegation was not true. "We are treating water cent per cent, purifying it and then supplying it to citizens. This is done at both Ravet and Chikhli treatment plants. But yes, I agree that issues might crop up if a drainage line which runs close to the drinking water pipeline develops problems. But to say that we are not treating water 100 per cent before supplying to citizens is not true," he said.
When asked if the tankers are providing purified water, Singh said the civic administration does not control the private tankers. However, he added that they might have to intervene and ensure that the wells are disinfected in the wake of the GBS outbreak. "But I want to stress that the majority of the residential societies do not use tanker water for drinking purposes. There might only be a handful of them doing so... Going forward, we might have to take a call regarding monitoring private tankers," he added.
Meanwhile, concerning the fake message, the PCMC has registered a complaint against an unidentified person. Sharing a copy of the FIR on X (formerly Twitter), the municipal corporation said that the citizens should not believe in such fake messages.
