A high-level expert team of Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, (MDWS) on Friday visited Sri Muktsar Sahib district to access the ground realities of water-logged areas.The team visit came days after the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal raised the issue with the Centre.
The team, led by Deputy Advisor to MDWS G Subhramanian, sought information regarding presence of heavy metals and other harmful elements in drinking water. It also laid emphasis on designing projects for the water-logged areas as per localised needs.Team emphasised on the need to find out possibilities to install solar-based small reverse osmosis (RO) plants in small pockets, habitats and schools. They also talked about bio-degradable and community toilets for the rural areas of water-logged districts.
The team started its tour from Sri Muktsar Sahib and would also visit Fazilka and Ferozepur districts for giving its recommendations to the Centre for sustainable and suitable drinking waterand sanitation projects in such areas where water level is very high.
The team visited Ratta Khera village to review drinking water scheme and RO plant installed by the State Government. They also visited Midda village to examine the success of rural latrines constructed by Department of Public Health and Sanitation.
They also reviewed the drinking water and sanitation facilities available in villages, schools, anganwari kendras in a meeting with the concerned departments.Deputy Commissioner Jaskiran Singh, who gave a detailed presentation to the team, said that out of 278 villages of district, 224 were declared water logging affected by the State Government.
“The ground water is unfit for human consumption, due to which all water supply schemes are based on surface water. In such village, government is constructing 10 toilets as pilot project with new technique wherein include one septic tank and one soakage pit is being constructed. Earlier, in rural areas, toilets were made with two leach pits,” he said.
He added that besides that, two villages of district were selected for construction of community toilets.