Residents of South Delhi’s prominent residential colony, Gulmohar Park, are facing a severe water crisis for the last two weeks. They are complaining of foul-smelling and discoloured water, suspected to be contaminated with sewage. Many have reportedly fallen sick and even been hospitalised.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is repairing the pipeline to resolve the water contamination issue faced by many households in all four blocks of the colony: A, B, C and D. The health of youngsters, elders and children has been affected over the last few days as cases of diarrhea, vomiting, and fever have risen following the deterioration of water quality.
“The water’s colour and smell are different from normal drinking water. We stopped using the piped water supplied by the DJB for drinking and cooking as the health of my son and grandchildren was affected after drinking contaminated water,” said Pratibha, a resident of the colony.
Vandana, another resident, said her daily expenses have increased because she is spending money on buying packaged water, water jars, water tankers and getting storage tanks cleaned. “Our neighbours, including the kids, have been visiting hospitals due to water-borne issues,” she added.
Talking to The Statesman, Atul Bal, President of the Gulmohar Park RWA, said, “The water contamination crisis in Gulmohar Park has been one of the most serious public health challenges faced by the colony in recent years. Over the past several days, a significant number of households reported foul-smelling, discoloured, and suspected sewage-contaminated water, causing understandable concern among residents, particularly families with children and senior citizens.”
Since assuming responsibility, the newly-elected RWA Managing Committee has worked closely with DJB officials—including the Executive Engineer, Superintending Engineer, and the Vice Chairman, DJB—to identify the contamination source and ensure immediate corrective action.
According to Mr Bal, multiple vulnerable contamination points were identified both within and around the colony. Investigations involved extensive field inspections, sampling, flow analysis, pipeline isolation, and technical assessment of the distribution network. “Several high-risk locations, including areas where temporary structures had been erected over utility corridors, were addressed through coordinated action with the authorities concerned,” he said.
The DJB has continuously repaired, flushed, tested, and monitored operations. Based on the latest technical assessments, there are encouraging indications that the principal source of contamination has been identified and corrective measures have been implemented. However, the system continues to be monitored through successive live supply cycles before any final conclusion can be drawn.
“Parallelly, emergency relief measures were put in place. Dedicated water tankers were deployed for Gulmohar Park, a structured tanker coordination system was established, and volunteers worked extensively to ensure that affected households received water support during the crisis period,” he informed.
“We appreciate the responsiveness shown by the DJB officials, field teams, and our local MLA, Shri Satish Upadhyay Ji, who personally monitored the situation and facilitated inter-departmental coordination on an emergency basis,” Mr Bal said.
While substantial progress has been made, residents are understandably awaiting complete restoration of a safe and reliable potable water supply.
“Our focus remains on ensuring that the immediate crisis is fully resolved and that long-term preventive measures are implemented to minimise the possibility of recurrence,” he said.
This episode has also highlighted the importance of maintaining utility corridors, preventing encroachments over public infrastructure, ensuring proper sanitation practices, and strengthening coordination between residents and civic agencies.
“We remain committed to working constructively with all stakeholders until normalcy is fully restored,” Mr Bal added.