SHILLONG, JAN 14: In what could cause a ruckus in Shillong, a city based research institute has declared that the drinking water supplied under Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme (GSWSS-II) from Mawphlang is “unsatisfactory for human consumption.”
Slamming the state government and the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department, the KHNAM-Youth Wing has termed the failure to provide safe drinking water to the people as a ‘biggest crime’ and said this is a fit case for Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
As per the report of the King Edward VII Memorial Pasteur Institute and Medical Research Institute, Shillong, it has remarked – “Physically the Ph is below the prescribed limit chemically, the water sample is satisfactory and bacteriologically it is unsatisfactory for human consumption.”
According to the microbiologist of the institute, the ph level of the water supplied from the GSWSS – II stands at 5.7, which indicated that it is “acidic”. The institute had conducted a testing for the purpose of drinking on the water sample being collected and submitted by the KHNAM from GSWS 4th mile on January 6.
“We had collected the water sample on a sterilized bottle from the clear water reservoir at the PHE Mawphlang,” KHNAM-Youth Wing president Thomas Passah told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.
He said that the report from the institute which they received only yesterday (January 13) has shocked them as the water sample from the reservoir is the one which is being stored after coming from the treatment plant, and is ready for distribution to the households.
“It is a matter of great concern that the water which is ready for supply as drinking water to the many households in the city is being declared as not fit for human consumption as it is highly acidic,” Passah said.
He further informed that as per the RTI filed by the party with the PHE it is revealed that the office of the department in Mawphlang does not have a chemist and microbiologist. “We wonder who is giving the clearance to release drinking water supply to the people when the department does not even have a chemist or a microbiologist,” Passah questioned.
Alleging that there may be huge corruption involved, Passah said, “We would continue to find out the depth of this whole failure which in turn is playing with the health being of the people of the state.”
Interestingly, this is the second time that the institute had reported the water from the same source is not fit for human consumption.
“Earlier way back in 1992, a similar test was conducted on the request of United Christian Youth Organization (UCYO), in which the report found out that water of the same source is acidic,” Passah informed. He further added, “This indicates that the state government had failed to act since that time (1992) and have been continuing to feed the people with contaminated drinking water.”
Echoing similar concern, KHNAM-YW general secretary Strongpillar Kharjana said, “It only shows that PHE department is treating the people of Shillong like batteries and not humans, if not, then why has it failed to take the matter seriously since 1992.”
Referring to the aspiration of the government to make Shillong a smart city, Kharjana said, “It will be totally meaningless to dream of smart city when the government can’t even afford to provide contamination free drinking water to its people.”
Meanwhile, the KHNAM – Youth Wing has demanded that the state government take corrective measures immediately to address this concern which may affect the health being of the people.
Passah also informed that a KHNAM delegation will soon meet the Deputy Chief Minister in-charge PHE department RC Laloo for his necessary intervention. He warned that if the state government fails to take corrective measures, the KHNAM will not hesitate to file a PIL against the government to so that the people’s health is protected.-By Our Reporter
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