Complete overhaul of old pipelines is the only answer

Is the municipal corporation acting on contaminated water complaints & taking swift action?

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Water pipelines need replacement

Amritsar Municipal Committee was formed in the year 1868 and much before its promotion as the Municipal Corporation in 1991 it was providing excellent services in the field of education and health in addition to its basic duties like sanitation, roads, streetlights, drinking water, etc. Its contribution to the field of art and culture, including maintenance of libraries and reading rooms was superb. They were making financial contribution to the local civil hospital also. In addition, their staff members extended helping hand for generation of power plant at Taranwala Pul. But afterwards with increase in its revenue, due to heavy taxes and liberal grants from Central and state governments its status has taken upward swing but standard of public services has deteriorated. At present, what to talk about other service the MC miserably failed to provide basic services like sanitation, maintenance of roads and drinking water to the residents. In the year 2010 with a grant from the Central Government, it floated tenders for testing of drinking water at each and every tubewell in the city, but the project was never completed. Keeping in view the alarming stage of depleting ground water level, a resolution No. 14 (A) (1) dated 29.1.2013 was passed by the house of Municipal Corporation for providing drinking water from Upper Bari Doab Canal but still after a lapse of eight years the project has not seen the light of the day. Recently, the state government has acquired land for the said project at Vallah. Similarly, age old drinking water pipelines need replacement. But the basic emphasis of the Central and state government is outwardly visible beautification and not underground cleanliness in form of water pipes and sewerage lines.

Harsh N Johar

Major problem inside walled city

The issue regarding contaminated water and limited water supply in the city is a big problem for the citizens inside the walled city because sewerage and water pipelines are adjoined underground since long and there has been no action taken by the MC regarding this issue. Many governments come and go but the problem remains the same. The water supply inside city is limited due to dense population. The pipelines which are old need to be changed for the sufficient supply of water. The local government must create helpline for the people and aware them so that these problems can be solved swiftly.

Yogesh Sharma

MC should take apt action against culprits

No, the Municipal Corporation hasn’t acted on the issue of contaminated water and limited water supply. The supplied water has a strong unpleasant smell and people are unfortunately helpless to use the contaminated water since they don’t have any other choice or any other source of fresh and non-contaminated water source. The MC should take quick action on this issue otherwise residents of various parts of city can face serious health problems likewise epidemic.

Sakshi Sharma

Improvement in sanitation required

Sanitation is necessary to stay healthy and disease free. Improve sanitation facilities by providing toilets and latrines that flush into a sewer or safe enclosure. Promote good hygiene habits through education. Proper hand-washing with soap and water can reduce diarrhoea cases by up to 35 per cent. Unsafe drinking water, high density living, open defection are the some causes of poor sanitation. When planning for a long-term waste management solution, sanitation solutions are required to minimise the spread of diseases which also include sanitation facilities, hand-washing facilities with soap and water, operation and maintenance regimes and community education. It is necessary to invest in the sanitation issues for the present as well as future as sanitation can save the lives. It is important for all, helping to maintain health and increase life-spans. However, it is especially important for children.

Akshar Kumar Singla

MC is sitting on complaints

No, the Municipal Corporation is not taking any concrete action on the complaints of residents regarding issue of contaminated water and limited water supply. In the past, several complaints have been filed with The MC by residents pertaining to various areas of city but all have fallen on deaf ears. Due to this, the residents are very much irked by MC’s antics.

Sanjay Chawla

Water safety plans are seldom implemented

Water is called the elixir of life but contaminated water has the potential to play havoc with the lives of the residents and the limited and erratic supply can put normal life out of gear. Thousands have lived without love, not one without water. We all know well that water is crucial for life even then we trash it anyway. Whether the MC is acting on the complaints and taking swift action or not, what is important is that water gets contaminated by untreated sewage, practice of bathing and washing near water bodies, throwing chemical waste and dumping agricultural waste into water. This is the area which remains neglected and breeds contamination. Hence, the purification systems should be improved drastically. For that, effective sanitation practices are necessary to produce safe drinking water. It should be ensured that clean drinking water has a balanced PH level, should be contaminant-free and rich with healthy, naturally occurring minerals. WHO produces international norms on water quality that are used as the basis for regulation standard setting worldwide. But water safety plans are seldom implemented and rarely meet even the national standards. No wonder, the unsafe water kills more people than war and all other forms of violence combined. So, it is the primary duty of the authorities to provide safe drinking water to the residents by abandoning its lackadaisical attitude. Water supply has a propensity to be affected by pressures on both the supply and demand sides which exposes vulnerabilities. Large-scale impact on supply would occur from altered ground water levels. Therefore, optimal management of water resources should be heeded if the scarce supply is to be overcome. City’s water supply structure includes surface water diversions, wells, pumps, transmission pipes, treatment and storage facilities and distribution network elements. Obviously protecting source water to reduce the presence of contaminants assumes greater importance. Of course drinking water sources are finite but the MC should make the most of them to tide over the limited supply trouble. Above all the complaints should be redressed promptly and swift action should be taken to ameliorate the lot of harried complainants. The residents at large are not satisfied with the way complaints are addressed. So, the MC ought to be complaisant to take prompt action in this regard.

Tarsem S Bumrah

MC must live up to ‘service provider’ tag

Amritsar citizenry faces an acute problem of adequate clean drinking water. The Municipal Corporation, as a service provider, is urgently required to provide sufficient clean drinking water by plugging wastage and contamination of water.

TS Bhatti

Pumped typhoid, Malady and remedy

Blocked sewerage lines and leaking water supply pipes are the ‘vera causa’ of the problem of contaminated water coming out of taps and faucets in Amritsar. But the story is not so simple. High pressure water squirting from pipes is not an uncommon sight in the city, but many leakages are underground and almost impossible to detect or plug. And, when the tubewell motor is switched off, the same pipes develop a vacuum and suck overflowing dirty water from the shoddy sewerage if it happens to be near a leak. No one can suggest any method to rectify the problem because the pipelines are underground and very old. Besides, unauthorised tampering with supply lines exacerbates the issue. Sometimes, wooden ‘gullies’ (sharp pegs) are hammered into a leak to slowly decompose and become another cause of dirty water. The only saving grace for the Municipal Corporation is that when the tubewell is switched on, the foul-smelling liquid is expelled in the first few minutes followed by absolutely clean water. The caution of all cautions for the consumers is to let the initial ten or twenty liters go down the drain and only then, after physical checking, send it to the reservoir. A permanent solution would require a complete replacement of the supply lines which, fortunately, was going on in some localities like Kote Baba Deep Singh, but has now been shelved in order to derive political mileage from this problem in the forthcoming Assembly elections. Besides, I think it is time the water hours are revised and water tariff increased, and only registered plumbers permitted to undertake incidental repairs. Free water is usually deemed as freedom to waste and squander.

Prof Mohan Singh

Limited water supply affects various works

No doubt issue of contaminated water and limited supply has troubled the residents in many parts of the city in many ways. There are a lot of diseases from consuming contaminated water like typhoid, jaundice, etc. Limited water supply can cause limitation of various works. The Municipal Corporation is very much responsible. From my perspective, my maternal grandmother’s house is in Ram Bagh area of Amritsar but they never had any such trouble. They receive water at fixed intervals and never complained about the water issue. The MC should be aware at these serious issues and should do as much as they can. Some underprivileged people do not get proper facilities like potable water, etc. At last, I want to conclude that the MC should be careful regarding these things. Citizens should also be responsible and cooperate with the government.

Izleen

Long-term planning need of the hour

There have been widespread whisperings that many big industries in the district are directly discharging the effluents in the groundwater, but those industries are being given sponsored and cosmetic inspections, which perfectly conform to the ‘clean chit’ philosophy of the consecutive regimes. When the big rivers are contaminated, rivulets, drains and canals are contaminated, how any sane citizen can expect clean water. Upper Bari Doab Canal, which emanates from Madhopur, used to carry clean water, where even Dev Anand used to swim in his youth, at Tibrhi Cantt Gurdaspur. Entire city would converge at the banks of the canal on holidays, in summer, and enjoy bathing and picnicking there. Old timers know that the water from the Jethuwal distributor (now abandoned) through Hansli filled the holy sarovar of Darbar sahib. Now, Hansli carries the water from near Taranwala Pul to four holy places. But upstream of the Hansli is full of garbage. The Amritsar administration has recently formulated a scheme to use the water of UBDC to take care of insufficient water supply. But, this water routes through the garbage of many cities on the way. Bringing clean water from Madhopur for supply to the city is a gigantic task. The people are aware of the Chali Khuh from where the clean and potable water reached the city. The British had developed 40 wells, a century back. Long-term planning by Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab governments is required, if Amritsar is to be provided clean and sufficient water. It is being said that the state government has set apart Rs2,000 crore for cleaning rivers. The Centre has been doing it for more than 35 years to clean Ganga and not succeeded and Swachh Bharat scheme has hardly moved beyond splendor of slogans. The MC alone won’t be able to do much and the regimes would mend their ways, nobody has any hope. To add to the citizens’ miseries, the telecommunication companies laying underground cables, and companies laying underground gas pipelines laying are playing havoc by frequently damaging the water supply and sewerage lines and digging the roads.

Hardish Sandhu

City’s Civic body is good-for-nothing

Today, it has become a major issue. Sewerage pipelines beneath are rusty and almost broken from many places. The water gets mixed up with drinking water at many levels. Corporations don’t act promptly. They are lazy to respond and always complaining about the lack of staff and have their preferred areas for problem-solving. Their working hours are also limited. Moreover, they work for only five days a week. Officers don’t have maps of the pipeline. Whenever the problem occurs, they dig at many places to find the fault which only increases the problem for the public. Many times it takes more than two months to solve the issue. Sometimes, it isn’t solved at all. It has become a real menace for residents. We have been hearing reports of the residents being hospitalised as well. We simply can’t move forward like this.

Sandhya Sikka

Supplying diseases to homes

For the last many years I have been reading news about contaminated and irregular supply of water in the city, in letters to the editor and newspaper. Residents of the city have been raising issues regarding this to the MC officials, time to time. But has it made a difference? No, the water is not fit to drink; it comes in corroded pipes and is contaminated with feces and chemicals. One of the important functions of the MC is to ensure clean drinking water and regular water supply to its residents. Despite budgetary allocations and tall promises, the problems remain unsolved, contaminated water and poor sanitation are linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, Hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio. Inadequately managed water and sanitation services expose individuals to preventable health risks. Inadequate management of urban, industrial, and agricultural wastewater means the drinking-water of hundreds of millions of people is dangerously contaminated. Better water sources also mean less expenditure on health, as people are less likely to fall ill. With children particularly at risk from water-related diseases, access to improved sources of water can result in better health. Mercury, lead, copper, chromium, cadmium, and aluminum all pollute tap water. If taken excessively for a long time, these heavy metals found in water can cause chronic health problems. The MC should ensure that water treatment plants be installed and are functioning. Regular check-ups of piplines be taken and replaced as per needs. Regular and longer periods of potable water supply should be ensured. Conscious efforts should also be made by the consumer; taps should not be left running. Water is very precious and it’s the duty of every citizen to conserve it.

Dr KS Manchanda

80% of illnesses linked to dirty water

Water insecurity is being observed in the urban city like Amritsar in the form of contaminated water reservoirs, ponds and lakes. On the other side, lack of direct water supply in reputed residential area Shubham Enclave GT Road, Amritsar, shows how people living in good places facing water scarcity. Twenty-first century is substantially influenced by a single resource ie drinking water. Everybody knows that 80 per cent of illnesses are linked to poor water and sanitation conditions and 10 per cent of the global disease could be reduced through improved water supply, sanitation, and hygiene. Major cause of water contamination is water pollution that disastrously effects the environment. Pollution in water can reach its zenith where there isn’t enough oxygen in the water. Sometimes it affects the entire food chain in relevance with the water bodies. Anyway, short and limited water supply in various parts of the city puts people in trouble. Water shortage may be caused by climate change, such as altered weather patterns, including droughts or floods, increased pollution, and increased demand and overuse of water. Water scarcity is being driven by two converging phenomena: growing freshwater use and depletion of usable freshwater resources. In a way forward, municipal corporations are quite sure about the fresh and clean water supply around the city. Moreover, also going through the complaints of residents every municipal authority’s prime duty, within the territorial area of the municipality, be responsible for the implementation of the provisions of rules given under waste management (Punjab Pollution Control Board) and for any infrastructure development for collection, storage, segregation, transportation, processing and disposal of municipal solid wastes.

Baljeet Kaur Johal

Officials should do duty earnestly

Recently, I visited the DC office for some work and was shocked to see that the parking just outside the office was waterlogged due to rain showers a few days back. This is such a sad irony that a reputed office which does so many important public works is in a debilitated state. The MC should firstly repair all the major offices of the city and then think about working on the problems of the residents. It is usually seen that during the monsoon season many parts of the city get submerged in water, causing problems for the residents. There is still time before the monsoon arrives, so the officials must do their work efficiently to prevent any problems in the future.

Jatinderpal Singh Bath

Water gives life, water takes life

There is contaminated water and limited supply has troubled residents in various parts, in some areas the supply is only for one hour or two and that too not worthy of drinking water, because of industrial waste, garbage, untreated sewage and chemicals. Food made from this water can cause food poisoning and can trigger transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid and polio. Water gives life, water takes life. It is the duty of the government to ensure clean and filtered water supply free from contamination. Rural population is more at risk from water-borne diseases. Everybody can’t afford to have an RO or water filters. Try to install a big water filter for the community to have clean drinking water. Some big NGOs can also help in this cause. Sad but true, on one side so much bottled and clean water is wasted in hotels and marriage parties and other functions, and on the other side a section of people are dying in need of clean water. Value water, there is no life without it.

Shashi Kiran

Financial crunch at heart of the issue?

Whether the MCA’s Water Supply and Sewerage Department acts on the complaints of residents or not, it depends on howthe problem is explained and to whom it is addressed. My experience tells me that the department doesn’t have enough resources at its disposal to mitigate the residents’ suffering, even if it wants to, all due to shortage of financial funds. But for this financial crunch, the department itself is to blame to quite an extent. The free service of zero charges for water supply by this department to a very large section may be on political considerations, but it has ruined its financial health. Even the bills for water supply and sewerage charges to the consumers who are not entitled for free service, are sent late by many months. The discontinuation of meter-reading for consumption of water is also a factor where the department is losing its very vital source of income. Free service and unmetered consumption leads to the uncontrolled usage and wastage of ever-depleting water wealth resources. This is bound to result in a very much limited water supply, because the requirement of more pumphouses can’t be met due to shortage of funds. The problem of contaminated water supply is also due to the shortage of funds required to renew the very old and leaking underground pipelines in many areas. Recently, in many areas the service of department’s own pump operators has been replaced by private contractors, who hardly listen to consumers’complaints. In the absence of MCA’s permanent pump operators, there is no routine check of whether a water pump is running or not, this causes decrease in water supply to the effected area consumers. All measures of improving the financial health of the MCA’s Water Supply and Sewerage Department needs to be undertaken at the earliest. Instead of totally free service, somewhat reduced charges for water supply and sewerage will go a long way in making an appreciable improvement and a change for the better functioning of MCA’s concerned departments to serve the consumers satisfactorily.

Points ought to be noted!

• The Municipal Corporation must restructure supply system by replacing water supply pipelines with ground supply lines.
• Canal-based potable water supply system should be endorsed, which give synergetic effect by providing clean water and also cost down new tubewell costs
• Rainwater harvesting system must be put in the houses measuring 200 sq yard and above.
• Where water wastage is more, hand pumps must be dug out
• Residents should also take social responsibility to check wastage of water like leaking taps, open-ended pipes across the city particularly in internal areas like Haripura, Nawakot, GaMal mandi, Maqbulpura, Kitchloo Chowk, Indira Colony and at public toilets
• As per data, one litre of water is wasted in a span of 12 seconds which amounts to 54,000 litre a month and 6.48 lakh litre in a year…waste of a precious commodity!
• To act on the residents’ complaints, the MC authorities should pull up the person responsible for the lapse, besides questioning the department concerned

Ankur Gupta, LJ Singh

QUESTION

There is an increase in death rate in the district. People without masks are already on radar of the health and police departments. But, do you think the administration is taking enough steps towards maintaining social distancing at public places?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (April 1).