30 Gandhi Medical College Students Fall Sick
The students, who have been suffering for over a week, said they found worms in the drinking water tank
HYDERABAD: Over 30 undergraduate students of Gandhi Medical College fell ill in the boys’ hostel due to alleged polluted drinking water.
The students, who have been suffering for over a week, said they found worms in the drinking water tank. One of them also contracted hepatitis. The 30 students reported diarrhoea and vomiting and were treated at Gandhi General Hospital.
Most of the students were seen grouping near the boys’ hostel. Outgoing seniors told Deccan Chronicle: “We are facing this water contamination for the first time in all these years. We are buying water from outside for drinking purposes.”
A third‑year student explained: “We did raise this issue, and they told us that they would clean the tanks, but as it was severe, they started doing it today. One of the thirty also got hepatitis, and the rest are being treated at Gandhi General Hospital. We found large worms in the tank.”
Meanwhile, a supply line was dug in the UG girls’ hostel to send samples for testing on Wednesday to check if their water also has contamination.
Dr K. Indira, principal of Gandhi Medical College, said: “There are over 30 students who complained of diarrhoea out of 300 UG students from both girls’ and boys’ hostels. These students are regularly consuming outside food and not eating in the mess. All of the students would have suffered otherwise, right? So, we sent samples of water from both boys’ and girls’ hostels to the Institute of Preventive Medicine (IPM), and it will take 48 hours for reports. Worms in water are not toxic; for the time being, we have been asked to supply water bubbles.”
She added that the water tankers were also cleaned.
