E.coli may be the stomach-churning ingredient in a refreshing glass of street-side drink. A robust 77 per cent of samples of nimbu paani collected by BMC from street vendors across 24 wards in the city were found to be contaminated by the bacteria, assumed to come from sewage water.

Gola fared no better: Of 250 samples of ice, the base ingredient, only 40 were found to be fit for human consumption. Of 204 lemonade samples collected, only 47 were safe for consumption.

Ubiquitous blocks of common ice may be the culprit as pinned down by BMC survey in March 2018. Of the ice samples collected and tested from restaurants, hotels and juice centres across the city, 98 per cent were found to be contaminated.

"E-coli bacteria can cause diarrhoea, urinary tract infection, gastroenteritis and typhoid," said Dr Padmaja Keskar, BMC's executive health officer. "We mainly check the samples for e.coli as it is an indicator of contamination. Lack of hygiene in stall owners and adulterated ice could be the source."

"Citizens should maintain personal hand hygiene and avoid eating food handled by glove-less vendors," said Dr Akash Shukla, head of Sion Hospital's department of Gastroenterology. "Citizens should immediately inform the civic authority if they find a water pipeline or sewage line leaking."

Scary Ice

• 24 wards Samples collected from
• 40/250 Ice samples found fit for consumption
• 47/204 Lemonade samples found fit for consumption