Several fall ill after consuming dirty water at Gr Noida condo

Noida: Several residents of Supertech Ecovillage 1 in Greater Noida West allegedly fell ill over the past few days after consuming contaminated water. Widespread cases of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea were reported across the society's 51 towers, affecting around 200 residents. Residents claim that poor maintenance of the water tanks is the likely cause of the outbreak.
"The tanks haven't been cleaned properly for years. At times, we've noticed a foul smell or an odd taste in the water, but no action was taken. Even after using RO filters, contamination persists, which is alarming," said Vijay Chauhan, association representative (AR) of the society.
The issue gained attention on Saturday evening when residents started discussing their symptoms in society WhatsApp groups.
Priya Sharma, a resident of the society, told TOI, "We saw a pattern—multiple families reporting similar health issues, all linked to water consumption. That's when we knew something was seriously wrong."
As a precaution, many residents have switched to either boiling their water before use or just buying packaged drinking water.
"We no longer trust the water supply. My three-year-old son has been suffering from severe stomach pain and diarrhoea since Thursday. Watching a child suffer due to negligence is devastating," said Ashok Kumar, another resident.
According to Chauhan, 20 residents from two towers – F3 and F7 – began reporting similar symptoms of stomach pain and diarrhoea. "The count increased to more than 200 by Monday," he added. In light of the rising number of complaints, the society's maintenance team claimed to have initiated water tank cleaning across all towers.
"We have started cleaning activities and requested the health department to set up a medical camp to assist affected residents," said Manu Tyagi from the maintenance team. GNIDA has also taken cognizance of the matter and stepped in, with officials collecting water samples from multiple sources in the society on Sunday.
"The same water is supplied across all societies. If it was contaminated, residents from other areas would also fall ill. However, during inspection, a dead rat was found in one of the water tanks. Samples have been collected from multiple tanks and sent for laboratory testing, and further action will be taken based on the results," said Sunil Kumar Singh, a senior official at GNIDA.
This is far from the first water-related health crisis in the area. In Sept last year, over 800 residents of Ecovillage 2 suffered from diarrhoeal symptoms after consuming contaminated water. Lab tests confirmed the presence of E coli bacteria in the water supply.There are approximately 6,400 flats spread across the society's 51 towers.
"We can't afford to let this happen again. Authorities must ensure safe drinking water to prevent future health emergencies," said Ramesh Verma, a resident.