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| PHE risks lives of Kashmiris by supplying un-filtered water Necessary chemicals run out of stock | | |
Jehangir Rashid
SRINAGAR, Aug 16: Don't get surprised if there is an outbreak of water borne disease in any part of Kashmir valley since the water supplied to people in the valley does not contain the essential chemicals needed for the purification of the water.
Sources told Early Times that the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department has run out of the stock of chlorine and ferric alum in the filtration plants and treatment plants across the Kashmir valley. The sources said that due to this reason the department is supplying unfiltered water to the people thus putting them to the risk of falling prey to the water borne diseases.
"Supplying water without filtration is bound to create problems for the people on health front. One cannot rule out the possibility of outbreak of water borne diseases in this situation and in such a case the whole responsibility would lie on the PHE department. The department failed to stock the required quantity of chlorine and ferric alum at the various filtration as well as treatment plants," said the sources.
Significance of chemicals like chlorine and ferric alum becomes more important at the time of incessant rains since the water contains various types of impurities on such occasions. Filtration becomes all the more important so that the supplied water becomes free from all the dirt, silt and other types of impurities. However, as the required chemicals are not in stock the filtration has virtually taken hit in Kashmir.
"There is a threat of flood in the Kashmir valley due to the continuous downpour over the past four days. Rivers are carrying various impurities these days and these need to be kept at bay before the water is supplied to the people. Alas! This cannot happen since no filtration takes place at the filtration and the treatment plants across Kashmir valley," said the sources.
The sources said that this is not for the first time that PHE department has run out of stock of chemicals like chlorine and ferric alum. They said that in the past as these chemicals were out of stock reports of outbreak of water borne diseases were received from various parts of the Kashmir valley.
Health experts say that diseases like cholera, dysentery, typhoid fever, Hepatitis A and gastroenteritis can easily break out if un-filtered water is consumed by the people. It is due to this reason that health experts always advise the people to always use filtered water at their home.
Recently there were reports that around 100 persons fell ill due to the consumption of unfiltered water in the frontier district of Kupwara. Most of these persons experienced vomiting and dysentery while as the others were affected by gastroenteritis in the district. Majority of these persons are getting treatment in the various health centres of Kupwara district.
"The PHE department should have adequate stock of chemicals like chlorine and ferric alum so that there is no shortage. However, the department has not learnt any lesson from previous mistakes and it continues to carry on with its fallacies. There seems to be no end to the wrong policies of the department," said the sources. |
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