Ahmedabad: As the summer temperatures continue to rise and dip, a wave of waterborne infections is sweeping through the city. Contaminated water sources and strained drainage systems are leaving residents vulnerable to a spike in gastrointestinal distress. In just the first five days of April, the city has been hit with over 100 cases of diarrhoea and dozens of typhoid reports, forcing health officials to place 26 neighbourhoods under high-risk surveillance.According to the epidemic statistics released by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s health department on Monday, 106 cases of diarrhoea, 22 cases of typhoid and six cases of jaundice were reported between April 1 and 5. During the same period, two cases of dengue were also recorded. The recent surge adds to a worrying trend for 2026. Since the start of the year, Ahmedabad has grappled with 1,106 cases of diarrhoea and 445 cases of typhoid. The city’s total health burden for the year now includes 206 cases of jaundice, 21 cases of simple malaria, eight cases of falciparum malaria alongside 80 cases of dengue and one case of chikungunya.In response to the rising numbers, the AMC has officially designated 26 neighbourhoods across the city as “high-risk” zones. Health officials are focusing their resources on these areas to prevent localized outbreaks from turning into a city-wide crisis.Interestingly, the health department claims that despite the high patient count, the city’s infrastructure is actually performing better than it did this time last year. Officials stated that complaints regarding water pollution, drainage choking, and water leakage have generally decreased compared to Jan and Feb of 2025. In the 26 high-risk areas declared in the city, there were a total of 364 complaints of water pollution in Jan 2025, which decreased to 330 complaints in Jan 2026. There were 332 complaints of water pollution in Feb 2025, which increased to 333 in Feb 2026, an increase of one complaint. In the 26 high-risk areas, there were 7,480 complaints of drainage choking in Jan 2025, which decreased to 5,863 complaints in Jan 2026. There were 6,275 complaints of drainage choking in Feb 2025, which decreased to 5,354 complaints in Feb 2026. There were 521 complaints of water leakage in Jan 2025, which decreased to 367 complaints in Jan 2026, and 440 complaints of water leakage in Feb 2025, which decreased to 300 complaints in Feb 2026.
