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mojoman
Executive Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
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he grieving family and relatives of a Durban mother — who died after a severe bout of diarrhoea — have been left wondering whether she would still be alive if municipal officials had acted faster to warn the community and rectify the source of polluted tap water in Mariannhill.
Sick and dehydrated, Rashnie Baijnath (38) died on her way to hospital on 10 August, leaving behind her husband, Suraj, and two children — 18-month-old daughter Shriya and 17-year-old son Keenan
Scores of residents in the Mariannhill/Birchwood area of Durban are sick with diarrhoea, believed to be due to drinking tap water polluted in the aftermath of widespread water and sewerage infrastructure collapses in Durban during the April floods.
In response to written questions from Our Burning Planet after the death of Baijnath, the eThekwini Municipality confirmed on 19 August that tap water in the Birchwood area, west of the city, “does not meet acceptable standards for human consumption”. It also advised residents to boil water for at least a minute before drinking it or when using it for food preparation.
According to eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Lindiwe Khuzwayo, the only affected area is Birchwood, near Mariannhill — not the city as a whole.
Nevertheless, wastewater treatment works, pump stations and pipelines are still not working in several parts of the city, leaving a noticeable stench in the air around several low-lying areas, riverbanks and lagoons.
Read More:
www.dailymaverick.co.za
Sick and dehydrated, Rashnie Baijnath (38) died on her way to hospital on 10 August, leaving behind her husband, Suraj, and two children — 18-month-old daughter Shriya and 17-year-old son Keenan
Scores of residents in the Mariannhill/Birchwood area of Durban are sick with diarrhoea, believed to be due to drinking tap water polluted in the aftermath of widespread water and sewerage infrastructure collapses in Durban during the April floods.
In response to written questions from Our Burning Planet after the death of Baijnath, the eThekwini Municipality confirmed on 19 August that tap water in the Birchwood area, west of the city, “does not meet acceptable standards for human consumption”. It also advised residents to boil water for at least a minute before drinking it or when using it for food preparation.
According to eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Lindiwe Khuzwayo, the only affected area is Birchwood, near Mariannhill — not the city as a whole.
Nevertheless, wastewater treatment works, pump stations and pipelines are still not working in several parts of the city, leaving a noticeable stench in the air around several low-lying areas, riverbanks and lagoons.
Read More:
FLOOD AFTERMATH: Durban mother dead, scores sick with diarrhoea as polluted tap water confirmed
In response to questions from Our Burning Planet after the death of Rashnie Baijnath, the eThekwini Municipality confirmed that tap water in the Birchwood area, west of the city, ‘does not meet acceptable standards for human consumption’.
www.dailymaverick.co.za
