Though Uttarakhand boasts of its Himalayan wealth and origin of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers, the water being supplied in the State capital has been ascertained as contaminated. Following a month-long water testing campaign from May 5, the Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation Scientists (SPECS) has come out with its report presenting an alarming scenario with the water tested in most areas was found to be non-potable either due to excess residual chlorine or total fecal coliform, said the society’s secretary Brij Mohan Sharma.
Addressing the media here on Sunday, Sharma said that the society had initiated the water testing campaign in all the 60 municipal wards of Dehradun including the ‘VIP’ areas and slum settlements.
As part of the study, SPECS collected water samples from all sixty wards with active collaboration of the volunteering water guardians (Jal Prahri) –concerned local residents. The report being released in public domain and will also be sent to the State Government and the Chief Minister’s office.
Sharma said, “The study reveals a seriously alarming situation with the water in most of the places included in the study is non-potable either due to excess Residual Chlorine or total Fecal Coliform. Most people are unaware that chlorinating water is unnecessary, unless there is Fecal Coliform present in it. Even the department does not seem to realise, or try to understand, that chlorination is the same as treating water with chemotherapy. It is an extreme solution for a dangerous illness, and should only be used when there is a
drastic situation, since Chlorine is a toxic gas that can cause harm and even cancer. If water is chlorinated, it should not be consumed directly or used for bathing or drinking. Chlorinated water can create acidity and other problems and the water is also deprived of micro-nutrients. When Fecal Coliform bacteria is found in raw water, the scientific process involved requires that the chemist calculate the dose of Chlorination and assure that not more than 0.2 mg/l chlorine will reach the consumer end. However the agency concerned doesn’t seem overly concerned by the possible outcome of not maintaining the critical amount. Whenever they are doing Super Chlorination (when chlorine exceeds permissible levels), they should also make it a point to alert the local population in advance so that they do not use the super chlorinated water until a few hours later, after they have let it settle. But this doesn’t happen as a matter of practice.”
Sharma further said, “What is also significant is that even higher authorities of the State’s various institutional bodies including the Vidhan Sabha and secretariat, the CM’s house, the houses of various ministers and even officials representing the supplying agency are all using water filters like the rest of the population. Since 1998 when we started analysing water quality, we observed the water quality became noticeably poorer and poorer. It’s my observation that every summer people need more water, but the department has been both inefficient and corrupt. The politics behind this is that when water
scarcity occurs, the focus is shifted from quality. So every summer Doon becomes a water-starved city with insufficient water for its common citizenry though there seems to be an ample supply of water for washing cars, gardening, hotels, institutes and workshops. Of the sixty water samples tested, potable water quality was found up to the mark only in two areas-New Cantt Road and Nehru Colony area. We took two samples from each ward and from the residences of six ‘VIPs’ testing the water for residual chlorine, total Coliform and Fecal Coliform. Action needs to be taken without delay to prevent spread of disease through contaminated drinking water.”
Sharma said that super chlorination was found in localities including Rajpur Road, Tyagi Road, Kurbura, Neshvilla Road, Vidhan Sabha, Balliwala Chowk, Clement Town society area Paltan Bazaar, lakkhibagh, Vasant Vihar and the residence areas of MPs Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Mala Rajya lakshmi, Cabinet Ministers Indira Hridayesh and Dinesh Aggarwal along with MlA Ganesh Joshi and the district magistrate’s residence.
Chlorine was absent in water supplied to areas including Yamuna Colony, Canal Road, Shastrinagar, Patelnagar, Pathribagh, Kalidas Road, Rajpur Road, Jakhan and other areas. Total coliform was found in areas including Shastrinagar Khala, Rampur Mandi road, Pathibagh, Subhashnagar, Jakhan and Araghar among other localities.