Kolhapur: 119 water samples in rural areas found unfit

KOLHAPUR: As many as 119 of the 776 water samples collected by Kolhapur zilla parishad from 374 flood-affected villages in the district have been found unfit for consumption owing to presence of various types of impurities.
A report from the Kolhapur ZP stated that 374 villages from the district were affected by the recent floods. With floodwater receding, water quality is being checked for safety by the health department officials.
The report added that all 12 talukas in the district have flood-affected villages. Karveer taluka tops the chart with 56 such villages, while Gaganbawda is at the bottom with 19 villages.
Priyadarshini More, deputy chief executive officer of Kolhapur ZP, said the water samples found unfit were checked in six laboratories.
“Villages whose water samples were found unfit for consumption have been communicated to erect warning signs near waterbodies saying that it is unfit for drinking,” she said.
According to More, the water samples were collected from source point, middle point, and end point, so as to look for any impurity and map the channel of the water distribution to see which one is impure.
She added that the gram panchayats of the villages concerned have been asked to inform the citizens against drinking water as it can lead to serious health hazards.
“We have to start undertaking cleanliness measures in all waterbodies all over again, especially with super-chlorination drive that will eliminate the safety-related issues of water,” More said.
Meanwhile, all the affected villages will be provided drinking water by tankers. Around 32 tankers are being operated across the district at the moment.
More added that due to floods as many as 528 water schemes across the district were affected of which 506 have already restarted, while others will be ready soon.