3 borwells shut down in Kota after NEET aspirant’s death

Jaipur: Three borewells from which drinking water was supplied to a coaching institute in Kota’s Jawahar Nagar area were closed after a NEET aspirant studying at the institute died of hepatic encephalopathy. Health department officials had found that the water supplied to the coaching institute was contaminated.
“Tankers were used for supplying water from the boring to the coaching institute, and the students were drinking the same water. After the water was found contaminated, all the three borings supplying water to the institute were closed,” said Kota chief medical and health officer (CMHO) Dr Jagdish Soni.
Vaibhav Roy, the student who died, was a native of West Bengal and living in Kota for the past several years.
More than 35 students living in Jawahar Nagar area were also diagnosed with hepatitis A. “Since hepatitis A is transmitted through the faecal-oral route, it is suspected that the water supplied by the tankers to the coaching institute was contaminated with sewerage water,” said Dr Soni.
Health department officials also said there were flaws in the way the coaching institute was providing the students drinking water and that they have now been rectified. “They are now providing water through their own boring. We have also ensured that they chlorinate the water first and use UV Lamp water treatment and filter for providing clean water to the students,” said Dr Soni.
The health department has also roped in the public health and engineering department (PHED) in the effort to provide clean drinking water in the area.
PHED officials are collecting samples and getting them tested, they said.