Mir Farhat
Srinagar, Mar 22: Sixty six per cent people in the State consumed contaminated and untreated tap water supplied by the Public Health and Engineering Department.
Official data revealed that more than five lakh households get untreated tap water from untreated water sources in the State. “12, 88,451 households which comprise 63.9 percent of population in the State have access to tap water. Out of which, 6, 99,173 households which comprised 34.7 percent of population consumed tap water from the treated sources, while 5, 89,278 households comprising 29.2 percent of the population got tap water from untreated sources,” the data showed.
The data disclosed that 93,707 households comprising 4.7 percent of population consumed water from uncovered wells out of the total 131,162 households who consumed water from wells.
The alarming increase of unfiltered water supplied to the people has also been pointed out by latest report released by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
“16.09 lakh families received untreated water from 341 water supply schemes in seven divisions of Kashmir that is being test-checked in the filtration plants.
The report pointed out that raw water is collected from nallahs and is directly supplied to people without filtration.
“In Jammu region, 53 to 68 percent unsatisfactory results have been found out by Government Medical College, Jammu, while carrying microbiological tests on water,” the report said.
The Government also admitted that the consumers received contaminated water from taps, especially rural areas being more vulnerable.
Chief Engineer Public Health and Engineering, Muzaffar Ahmad Lankar, told Excelsior that the rural areas in the Valley received contaminated water.
“Filtration plants are not available at all the places in the Valley. The rural areas are partially covered by the department. Thus they received 40 litres of tap water per capita,” Lankar said, adding, the department understands that the quantity of water supply is not enough.
The Health experts feared that if 100 per cent population didn’t consume pure and treated water, water-borne diseases are likely to consume masses in the State.
Integrated Disease Surveillance Unit (IDSU) of Director of Health Services, Kashmir, which routinely collects reports from the district hospitals, has shown high coliform bacteria count in Kashmir’s water bodies. This bacteria is responsible for diaharria rise in the region.
A doctor associated with Health Directorate said water resources are being polluted by open air defecation and the same bacteria-infected water is supplied to the people by the Government.
“Water-borne diseases are spread by PHE’s untreated water supplied to people, which later becomes headache for us,” the doctor wishing anonymity said.
Lankar, however, dismissed the alarming revelations by the CAG and the IDSU. “The reports about untreated water being solely responsible for diseases are totally baseless. We have 29 laboratories throughout the Valley for conducting tests on water. That means we are better quipped,” he said.
He said that it would take the department more three years to cover the entire Valley with tap water supply and more filtration plants.
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