Getting contaminated water supply for 2 weeks, say Indira Colony residents

Neeraj Bagga

Amritsar, June 30

Residents of Indira Colony and adjoining areas on the Majitha road have claimed that many among them are suffering from water-borne diseases like diarrhea as they have been receiving contaminated water supply for the past two weeks.

Arvinder Warraich, a resident of the area, said, “Several residents of Indira Colony’s ward number 11 have fallen ill due to non-cleaning of sewerage and water pipes in the area. The officers and employees of the MC are playing with the people’s lives. Employees of the Health Department distributed chlorine tablets and ORS pouches among residents. Insecticides were also sprayed inside and outside area houses. But these steps were not enough.”

Karnail Singh and Chamkaur Singh, both residents of the same area, said despite the spread of the disease, no action had been taken by the municipal corporation. The residents of the area were irked with the MC’s indifferent approach. They said they had called up the authorities concerned, which replied that their officials would visit the area soon.

Another resident Shelly said the sewage pipes in the areas had not been cleaned for a long time. He added that the major pipes of the internal and external main roads of the areas should be cleaned a couple of months before the arrival of the monsoon.

This time it has led to mixture of sewerage water with potable water, which led to the alleged contamination of drinking water. Owing to this, people are suffering from fever, vomiting and diarrhoea.

The residents warned that if the municipal corporation did not resolve the problems of the localities, then they would be compelled to hold a protest.

On being asked about the problem, MC Commissioner Harpreet Singh said he was not aware of it and added that he would soon dispatch teams to review the problem.