Mahanagar and Alambagh water not safe for drinking

LUCKNOW: Over 100,000 residents in seven city neighbourhoods are at an increased risk of suffering from diseases, thanks to contaminated water supply.
A joint survey by Jal Sansthan and the district health department collected 60 samples from Mahanagar, Chinhat, Badshahnagar, Khadra, Alambagh, Nishadganj and LDA Colony between August 29 and September 4. Nine of these samples do not meet the chlorination standard. Some of the samples also had sand particles.
According to Jal Sansthan guidelines, every litre of water should have 0.2-0.4 microgram of chlorine to make it potable. A concentration less than that does not kill bacteria and other microbes, making the water unsuitable for consumption.
“Lack of chlorine indicates that either the disinfectant wasn’t added to the water before it was released from Jal Sansthan’s pumping stations or there were leaks in the pipelines,” said a senior health department official.
“Contaminated water with harmful microrganisms may lead to indigestion, diarrhoea, typhoid and fungal infections. A letter has been sent to Jal Sansthan to maintain the desired amount of chlorine,” said additional chief medical officer DK Bajpai.
Jal Sansthan executive engineer OP Singh said pumping stations had been given necessary instructions. “We also plan to launch a drive to spot leaks and plug them,” he added.
Residents said they were receiving contaminated supply since mid-July. “Many people in my area are suffering from diarrhoea,” said Ajay Singh of Khadra. Susmita Singh of Alambagh said she boiled and then filtered water before giving it to her seven-year-old. “Complaints to the local corporator has fallen on deaf ears,” she added.
The recent survey is part of an ongoing monsoon campaign to check the quality of drinking water supply.
Two surveys in August that covered areas like Lalbagh, Aliganj (Mohibullahpur), Jankipuram, Para, Gomtinagar and Indiranagar, among others, had found similar irregularities.