Suhail Bhat
Srinagar, Jan 7: The Department of Public Health and Engineering is risking the lives of thousands of people in Pampore area of South Kashmir by lifting faecal contaminated water from river Jhelum for scheme that supplies drinking water to the town.
Locals from several areas said that much to the embarrassment of the Government the faecal matter can be seen floating around the mouth of suction pipe that lifts water for the oldest water supply scheme at Kadlabal area of the town.
As per PHE, every day the department lifts 1.5 million gallons of water from the Jehlum River and supplies it to more than 5000 households of Pampore town. “The faecal contamination of the water has put nearly 30,000 people vulnerable to the waterborne disease, “Mushtaq Ahmad, a local from Pampore said, adding the water along the banks of Jehlum has become increasingly murkier near Kadlabal area as raw faecal sludge of several houses runs into the river at several places.
Experts said that Municipal Committee Pampore is violating the Jammu and Kashmir Water Resources Conservation and Management Act, 2010 by allowing unabated raw sledge into the river. “The Government has banned the discharge of sewage into any water body. Raw sewage effluents contain toxic substances that are harmful to human and aquatic life and has negative impacts on overall biodiversity as well,” Mukhtar Ahmad, an expert said.
Doctors said the faecal contaminated water, besides being the main killer of children under the age of five, is a breeding ground for diseases like cholera, dysentery, typhoid and diarrhea. It’s an open invitation to the diseases,” Qayoom Khan, a doctor said.
The locals, however, blamed lack of enforcement and surveillance responsible for the unabated dumping of raw sewage into the water, dumping of raw sewage goes unchecked due to callous attitude of the local municipality,” Sajad Ahmad, a local said, adding they have several times sought the relocation of the drainage outlet but the Government is unmoved.
Junior Engineer PHE, Javaid Ahmad, when contacted said the department has repeatedly written to the local municipality but they failed to act. “We have been written to the local municipality about the problem for three years but they have not been able to address it. The raw sewage should not go into the river,” he said.
When asked about the lifting of contaminated water he said, “People dump sewage water into Jhelum across Kashmir and that doesn’t make all drinking water unfit for drinking. We at Pampore treat the water with modern techniques and then only distribute it,” he said.
Chief Executive Office, Municipal Committee Pampore, Manzoor Ahmad, when contacted said he has already sent a team of officials to take stock of the situation, “if anyone is found violating the act, we will take action,” he said.
Meanwhile, the locals said Government should close the water supply if they are unable to relocate the drainage outlet. “We want the Government to close the scheme and connect us with the recently built Tangnar Water Supply Scheme. Sanitation shall be the priority of the Government but they seem to be busy somewhere else,” a local said.
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