Hyderabad, Feb. 26 -- Every morning at 4 am, water runs in the taps of Shahbazguda in Secunderabad's Warsiguda. By the time most families wake up, the water that was meant for drinking, cooking and bathing has already sat in their vessels - muddy, foul-smelling and at risk of making children sick - a situation drawing comparisons to the Indore water contamination tragedy earlier this year, which left at least 22 people dead and hundreds hospitalised.

For the past month, residents of Shahbazguda say they have been receiving contaminated water through the municipal supply from the Musheerabad division, with cases of stomach infections, fever and vomiting rising steadily in the locality. The elderly and children have been hit the hardest. ...