7 water supply, sewer management projects taken up in Chandigarh for Rs 166 cr: Minister
MP Tewari had flagged recent incident of contaminated water supply
Under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0), the Chandigarh Administration has taken up seven projects at a total cost of Rs 166.39 crore, which includes two water supply projects worth Rs 43.77 crore and five sewer management projects for Rs 122.62 crore.
The approved projects cover 10.50 km new water network and 239.69 km of sewer network. This has been stated by Manohar Lal, Minister Of Housing And Urban Affairs, in the Parliament while replying to the questions of Manish Tewari, Chandigarh MP. The minister said that so far in Chandigarh more than 1.76 lakh water tap connections in the urban areas and 2.36 lakh sewer connections had been provided under AMRUT. Besides, 20 km of water pipeline network and 30.13 km of sewer network has been laid or replaced.
Tewari had asked whether the government was aware of recent reports regarding supply of contaminated drinking water in certain areas of Chandigarh, leading to a number of residents falling sick. He also sought the details of the areas affected, the number of complaints received and the findings of water quality tests conducted in this regard.
The minister said that the Administration had said that the complaints were received regarding supply of water contamination in the areas of Mauli Jagran, Dariya and Hallomajra in Chandigarh. However, in majority of the cases, presence of muddy water was linked to the ongoing repair work of the supply lines. Besides, there have been cases where residents have utilised their water pumps during non-supply hours, which are directly connected to the supply lines, thus generating internal pressure on pipe joints and resulting in the mixing of mud with the water.
The UT Administration has taken immediate measures and water samples were collected randomly and got tested through the National Accreditation Board of Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited lab. Around 1,995 water samples had been tested during the last three months and the results of collected samples during the period had been found satisfactory.
The UT Administration has also stated that in Chandigarh, the water supply system is old, which results in leakages in pipes sometimes. As and when such incidents are noticed, immediate repair works are carried out.
Tewari said that while answering his question on people falling ill in rehabilitation colonies, especially Mauli Jagran, because of contaminated water supply, the government was attempting to cover up a very grave situation. The reality unfortunately is that in most rehabilitation colonies of Chandigarh, the drinking water pipes and sewage lines have corroded and as they lie next to each other, the drinking water is being contaminated, he said.
There is an urgent need to carry out an audit of the drinking water and sewage lines in all relief and rehabilitation colonies to ascertain the leakages and fix them to prevent a very serious situation from manifesting itself in the future, he added.
