India, March 10 -- Doctors and public health experts in Delhi stressed that contaminated drinking water can have severe health consequences, particularly for children, the elderly and people with weakened immunity - groups that are most vulnerable to infections such as hepatitis, typhoid and acute diarrhoeal diseases.

The warning comes a day after a Hindustan Times investigation found bacterial contamination in several household tap water samples collected from complaint-prone areas across the capital. Laboratory analysis of 18 samples found that eight contained either total coliform bacteria or E. coli - both indicators of possible faecal contamination in drinking water.

Health experts said that such contamination can directly translat...