Rohtak residents receiving ‘contaminated’ drinking water

Sunit Dhawan

Rohtak, March 20

Residents of the HSVP sectors of Rohtak city are facing inconvenience due to an erratic supply of drinking water. The bigger problem, however, is that the water is allegedly contaminated. Resdients said for the past few days, the water supplied to them had been muddy and had a peculiar smell.

Sources said the underground sewerage and stormwater pipelines installed in the old sectors were badly damaged and rusted, leading to leakage, needing immediate replacement.

“The old water connections, provided through iron pipes, have also damaged with time so waste water gets mixed with drinking water, which poses a major health hazard to residents,” said a source.

Several residents of HSVP sectors have complained of unannounced cuts in water supply. “There was no water supply this morning. Such cuts in water supply have are being witnessed frequently . A few days ago, the water supplied for drinking was so muddy and stinky that it could not be used even for washing,” said Nirmal, a resident of Sector 1.

Residents of other HSVP sectors have made similar complaints. Former municipal councillor Kadam Singh Ahlawat said some sectors came into existence nearly 35 years ago and their sewerage and stormwater pipelines needed to be replaced as they have outlived their utility.

“The sewerage network of the sectors is under the jurisdiction of the HSVP authorities, while the stormwater drainage system has been handed over to the local Municipal Corporation. This also leads to techno-official delays in the repair and maintenance works,” he stated.

When contacted for comments, Superintending Engineer of the Public Health and Engineering Department, RK Sharma, denied any shortage of drinking water in the city. “If there are any specific complaints/issues in this regard, we will try to resolve them at the earliest,” he added.