--Residents slam PHED for negligence: The discovery of a dead snake in tap water of a household connected with Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) water pipeline in Ward No. 9 of Athamallik NAC has created a scary situation here with people dreading to use the pipe water because of its unhygienic and poor quality.
The incident took place in the house of one Tapan Sahu. On August 19, his family members noticed a tail of a snake hanging in the mouth of a tap from where they are getting supply water from the PHED. The snake’s body was decomposed and had been mixed with the water provided for consumption.
Two days earlier, a live snake was also seen coming out of the supply water tap in the house of Bimbadhar Behera of the same Ward of the NAC. Though the residents are repeatedly complaining regarding the poor quality of the water, the department is remaining silent over the issue. During the rainy season, only a little bleaching powder is added in water before supply. The tank is hardly cleaned, neither is the water quality inspected regularly.
The overhead tank of the PHED is located in front of the town hospital. The water supply to each ward of the NAC takes place after purifying the water of the Mahanadi river. The residents demanded that the water tank be checked and purified carefully before the supply of the water.
Sub-Collector Dr Jitendra Patro assured to investigate the issue.