Crores spent, but clean water still a distant dream for Kaithal residents

KAITHAL:Despite expenditure of crores to ensure supply of potable drinking water to a population of over two lakh, the Public Health Engineering Department has failed to supply quality water to residents of this town.

Satish Seth

Kaithal, July 20

Despite expenditure of crores to ensure supply of potable drinking water to a population of over two lakh, the Public Health Engineering Department has failed to supply quality water to residents of this town.

According to information received from the department by activist Sunil Ravish, drinking water being supplied to residents in many localities is not potable.

Residents get supply from two canal-based water supply schemes, one on the Peoda road and the other on the Manas road.

Huge open water storage tanks have been constructed and after treatment, the water is being supplied through boosting stations to various localities.

Besides, there are about 35 tubewells in Kaithal town which are operated by the department to augment its water supply.

The department collected four samples from localities adjoining the Peoda road water treatment plant which failed in the department’s laboratory tests. Similarly, water from three public health taps — in Shakti Nagar, on the Chandana road and in Radha Swami Colony — were found unfit for drinking.

In samples collected from Bara Katehra, Sundran mohalla, Sri Puj mohalla, Sarojini mohalla, Chandana gate, Tewari mohalla, Talai bazaar and Chiranjiv Colony, coliform was more than permissible limits.

Ravish said despite his request, no water sample was taken from HUDA Sector 18 . He regretted that the department had not provided information about quality of treatment plants installed long back.

The department failed to provide information about the quality of water in Mini-Secretariat, Judge Colony and Zila Parishad Bhawan.

In reply to a query by another RTI applicant, the department accepted that it had not collected water samples from government schools and government hospitals.

Public Health Department XEN VK Gupta said they were determined to supply quality water and used chlorine and alum whenever any deficiency came to their notice.