A recent study by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Gandhinagar has established the presence of coronavirus in water samples from the Sabarmati river and two lakes in Ahmedabad city of Gujarat.
While the study, funded by the UNICEF, did not reveal if the genes of coronavirus found in the water samples were dead or alive, Professor
Manish Kumar, who led the research, has emphasised the need for further probe on the subject to avert any future tragedy.
Following the revelation, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has decided to send samples from these water bodies to the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC).
"The GBRC is the authorised agency of the AMC for water analysis. We have been sending samples to them since the last one year and they submit their report to the state government. We have no idea about the IIT's research. However, we will now send samples of these water bodies to the GBRC for a similar analysis," said Harpalsinh Zala, the AMC's city engineer for Water Resources.