J&K State claims to have large resources of water. Owing to almost year-round snowfall on high Himalayan peaks, we have dependable source of water to flow into rivers, streams, nullahs, springs and ponds. All these resources are being tapped for supply of piped water to the cities and towns. But not all towns are connected to piped water lines. Villages do not have piped water at all. There are some kandi regions also in Jammu province where there is scarcity of drinking water. We can say that no doubt we have plenty of water resources but these are not equitably distributed in the State owing to many geographical and topographical differences in three regions of the State.
The Department of Public Health Engineering has the regular agenda of providing piped water to more and more households in towns and villages and under several phased schemes this programme is being carried forward. However, it has to be noted that there is no modern and viable system of testing the drinking water consumed by either the town people or the villagers. Some of the properties of water cannot be uniform at all resources. Water that is put to the use of drinking and cooking has different specifications in different parts of the State. It is necessary to subject all drinking water to laboratory tests and ensure that it does not contain any elements hazardous for public health. It has to be remembered that there are several water-borne diseases which could be even fatal. People, by and large, are ignorant about water quality parameters such as heavy and toxic elements, pesticides, chlorine by-products and bacteriological contamination. This is just because we don’t have modern water testing laboratories to warn and guide the consumers.
The Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has found it disappointing that there is no laboratory worth the name in any one of the three regions of the State. Obviously, it means that there are more health risks for the people of the State because water is one of the main carriers of diseases if it is not treated before it is bottled or piped for supply. In view of this discrepancy in the State, the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has agreed to provide two State level and one regional level water testing laboratories for the State. Of the two State- levels one each will be installed in the cities of Srinagar and Jammu and the regional laboratory will function in Leh. In this way, the Union Ministry has provided the facility to all the three regions of the State. Hopefully, the new laboratories will begin functioning within six months from now. Once completed and made functional, it will drastically improve health conditions of the people of the state especially in rural areas and villages.
But the interesting point in this offer of the Union Ministry is that it will bear all the cost on this project. But the advice of the Secretary of the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to the State Government was not to focus of the demand for money but on implementing the instructions and guidelines provided by the Union Ministry in regard to steps for providing clean water to the people. Under the scheme of the Union Ministry each state will be provided with one state level water testing laboratory with all requisite paraphernalia. But in the case of the J&K, two State-level and one regional-level laboratories have been sanctioned. According to the secretary of the Union Ministry the norms were reconsidered in the case of our State because of special conditions and features. We should be thankful to the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation for a generous gesture. The scheme also envisages training of in-service staff for running the laboratories and also training the local population of how to keep water clean and without pollution.
In final analysis, we hope that the State Government will not rest content with the promise of the Union Ministry about the supply of three units of laboratories from testing the drinking water. It must ensure that adequate staff, space and infrastructure are provided as early as possible. The provisions of National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) envisage many more activities and these should be undertaken as per the guidelines. In most of the cases sponsored by the Centre, the accompanying instructions and road map have usually been deviated from and this causes irritation in relationship. We hope the State Government and the PHE department in particular will take a note of this matter.
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