Water quality still poor, say Muktsar residents

Archit Watts

Tribune News Service

Muktsar, May 21

Though the water quality improved slightly in canals on Monday, it is still contaminated, say local residents.

In view of the prevailing situation, some private reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment plants started free supply of treated water to consumers. Suresh Garg, owner of an RO plant, said: “Considering the problems people are facing due to the prevailing crisis, we have decided to supply treated water for free.”

Meanwhile, residents under the Naujawan Bharat Sabha on Monday staged a protest along the Rajasthan Feeder and Sirhind Feeder canals at Chak Gaandha Singhwala village here. They demanded that a case of attempt to murder be registered against the owners of the factories that disposed of the industrial waste into the Beas.

Officials of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department claimed that there was no scarcity of potable water. “We had closed water inlets of all reservoirs, so the contaminated water could not enter anywhere. Still, we lifted about 50 water samples and the reports from the local laboratory clarified that the water stored in the reservoirs is not contaminated. We have further sent the samples to the state laboratory and its report is awaited,” said Kuldeep Singh Saini, Superintending Engineer, Water Supply and Sanitation Department. He said: “We have stored water for 7-14 days, so consumers need not panic.”

Spill reaches crops, farmers worried

Fazilka: Contaminated water with foul smell continued to flow in non-perennial canals of Fazilka district for the third consecutive day on Monday. Khanpur village sarpanch Hardip Dhakka said farmers were worried as Bandiwala canal, which irrigated nearby villages, was badly affected. “The canal water automatically flows into the fields through water courses. This can damage the standing cotton crop,” he said. Dhakka said the canal water could further deteriorate sub-soil water, which was already unfit for irrigation. DS Dhaliwal, Executive Engineer, Irrigation Department, said fresh water had been released from Harike headworks and it would reach the tail end of canals in a day. OC