Residents complain of dirty water supply

Residents in various parts of Srinagar complained that they were getting contaminated water supply from the last two weeks which increased risks to various water-borne diseases.
A group of residents from Rawalpora in the city said there was the problem of contaminated water from the last two weeks as there was mud visible in the water which was not safe for drinking.
“The problem was always there but it was not much. Now the mud is clearly visible in water. The problem has worsened from the last week. We have not washed clothes from the last week,” said a resident.
The residents said the problem worsened during the rains as the water got more dirty.
“During rains the problem gets aggravated,” another resident said.
After last year September floods, a secondary data analysis report by a team of the National Coalition of Humanitarian Agencies of India (NCHAI) carried out the secondary data analysis in the backdrop of the disaster.
The findings of the team have revealed that 63.9 per cent of the households get tap water of which only 34.7 per cent get it from treated (dependable and clean) sources in Kashmir. While as 29.2 per cent of the households get tap water from untreated sources, and 6.7 per cent fetch water from rivers and canals.
The team has predicted that due to the repeated floods in the Valley, most of the water sources remain inundated and are likely to get contaminated.
The NCHAI has quoted a Census report, which says out of 20, 15,088 households in the state, 9, and 83,791 did not have latrine facilities on their premises; this results in a high risk of contamination of all water sources.
“As many as 61.4 per cent households do not have a latrine facility in rural areas against 12.5 per cent of households in the urban areas. Almost 58 per cent of the rural population practices open defecation,” the report says.
Around 80 water testing laboratories are operational in the state. However, many believe that the water quality monitoring was not being done properly.
The Chief Engineer, Public Health Engineering Department, said they were unaware about the issues and people should approach the department.
“We don’t know anything about it. People should complain to us so that we can look into it,” said Chief Engineer, PHE, GM Bhat.
The executive Engineer of the Department said he would personally go to the area and check the problem.
“We have all the filtration plant functional here and there is no such problem. I will still go to the place to monitor the situation,” he added.