Drinking water woes in Abohar area as 115 RO plants lie defunct

As many as 115 reverse osmosis (RO) water purification plants have been lying non-functional for the past over two years in the Abohar area of Fazilka district. This despite the fact that an official estimate for their repair was submitted to the authorities concerned by the Water Supply and Sanitation Department in March 2023.

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The information in this regard was procured through an RTI application filed by this correspondent. It reveals a deepening public health crisis in the region, where groundwater in large areas has become unfit for human consumption due to high salinity levels. Even as cost estimate have been prepared, no repair of the RO plants has been initiated so far.

“These plants are now just dead structures, gathering dust. Most of these plants stopped functioning simply because the membranes needed to be changed,” said Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar.

Muktsar district is also facing a similar situation with 105 of 118 RO units in Muktsar division-1 and 111 of 121 units in the Malout division are out of service.

Meanwhile, with the monsoon season approaching and water-related diseases likely to spike, villagers fear the lack of clean drinking water could lead to a public health emergency.