Led by Shanabhai Thakore, Muljibhai Patel and Dilip Patel, the delegation alleged that sanitation was not being properly maintained by the municipal corporation and that about 250 to 300 people are sick in the village.

They demanded that they be provided with piped water instead of the present method of supply through tubewells. The villagers opined the gastro cases could have been triggered by contamination of the extra water being supplied by tankers.

When contacted, civic Health Officer Shireesh Patel confirmed that three to four cases of enteritis had been reported from the area for the last 15 days but claimed that it was mainly because of poor sanitation. Patel denied that there was any contamination of the water sources or the tanker water.

He said the claim of a section of the councillors that three people had died in the area because of poor water was not true. They had died because of heart ailments and had nothing to do with water or sanitation, he clarified.

Patel also disagreed that repellents and insecticides were not being sprayed regularly in Maneja. ``It is done regularly'', he told Express Newsline.

About supply of piped water to the area, Additional City Engineer B S Trapasia said the Vadodara Municipal Corporation had chalked out a plan to set up boosting stations at the Makarpura GIDC water tank to pump water to Maneja, Makarpura and Jambua villages. However, he clarified that a permanent arrangement is to set up a water tank for the area within three years at a cost of Rs 5 crore.