Dirty water woes for Jugsalai residents

Jamshedpur, April 19: More than 50,000 residents of Jugsalai Municipality are left with no choice but to drink impure water being supplied by the drinking water and sanitation department (DWS).

For months, algae and insoluble pollutants have accumulated in the settling plant that supplies “drinking water” to residents. Intake of this water has resulted in various diseases. Fed up with the state of affairs, residents have started buying mineral water, which costs a hefty amount.

The settling plant was set up five decades ago at Bistupur to supply drinking water. Tisco (now Tata Steel) had entered into an agreement with the state government to supply 3 lakh gallon of water per day. The requirement has risen to 5 lakh gallon per day.

The municipality has given drinking water connections to about 17,044 households. Although the municipality collects Rs 3-5 lakh revenue annually as water tax, it is unable to meet the needs of over 50,000 residents.

A senior DWS official (East Singhbhum) said the two compartments of the settling plant have not been cleaned for months due to lack of government funds.

“We have limited funds to procure limestone, bleaching power and other chemicals used for treating water supplied by the company. The company supplies raw water, which needs to be treated before being pumped into the water tower,” he said.

Jugsalai Municipality officers blamed the drinking water and sanitation department for supplying impure water. “There is a huge difference in the quality of drinking water supplied by the Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company (Jusco) and by the DWS department. We have complained to the special officer of the municipality, who has conveyed the matter to the concerned department,” a municipality official said.

The DWS officials, however, refused to accept responsibility. “I have not visited the site from where the plant is supplying water to the settling plant. But I hope the company is supplying clean water from the pond,” said subdivisional officer, N. Imam.

S. Pathak, resident of the Jugsalai Municipality, said: “Every year we pay water tax to the government. But there is no other option but to drink unhygienic water.”

The urban ministry had approved a drinking water project in the last fiscal worth Rs 1,145 lakh for laying new pipelines, setting up treatment plants and water towers for the Jugsalai Municipality.

The government, however, has not allotted funds to the district administration yet.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070420/asp/jamshedpur/story_7671972.asp