Annisa Essack
23:08:2022

Imtiaz Sooliman, the director of Gift of the Givers, has expressed his heartfelt condolences to the family of Rashnie Baijnath, who died after allegedly drinking contaminated water.

Baijnath died en route to the hospital on August 10 from severe dehydration. Her death, according to her family, could have been avoided.

She is survived by her husband and two children, an 18-month-old daughter and a 17-year-old son.

Imtiaz Sooliman, the director of Gift of the Givers, expressed his heartfelt condolences to the Baijnath family on the tragic loss of what he believes could have been a preventable death.

The organisation delivered 15,000 litres of bottled water to residents of Marianhill and the surrounding areas of Birchwood today.

According to Bilall Jeewa, co-ordinator of Gift of the Givers, they have been responding to the area’s water crisis since the devastating floods in April.

Niki Poonwasi, Baijnath’s landlord, said she had become very ill and was being rushed to St Mary’s Hospital when she died.

Poonwasi stated that the water crisis has made Baijnath and many other residents ill and that residents desperately need safe drinking water.

The City of Birchwood Park declared the water safe for human consumption on August 9 after recent water tests revealed that the water quality was within acceptable standards.

On August 19, however, the City issued another statement stating that the tap water in the Birchwood area did not meet acceptable standards and should not be used for cooking or drinking.

When asked for comment on Tuesday, eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said a colleague who lives in the area did informally mention Mrs Baijnath’s death to colleagues and the community’s concerns that her death was caused by drinking polluted tap water.

Mayisela confirmed that Birchwood and parts of Mariannhill had been impacted.