Arun Singh
Early times Report
Jammu, Jan 21: The sluggish approach of the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department to establish Water Testing Laboratories at District and Sub District level has forced the public to consume contaminated water, defeating the main objective of providing safe drinking water in the state which is bound to create health hazards due to water borne diseases.
Expressing anguish over the dilly dally attitude for completing the project, the sources informed Early Times that the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department which was assigned the responsibility to establish 70 Water Testing Laboratories at District and Sub District level under National Rural Drinking Water Programme, has drastically failed to achieve the target despite lapse of six year.
"The chief aim of setting up of 70 Water Testing Laboratories, including 19 at District Level and 51 at Sub District level, was designed to ensure testing of chemical as well as biological parameters before the water is supplied to the public but the indifferent tendency of the department has made it to only establish 44," they said.
They further added that out 44 laboratories which were set up, 31 were established at District level and 13 at Sub District level i.e only 37%. Interestingly, PHE department going beyond the targeted laboratories of 19 at District Level set up 31 and ignored the sub districts which clearly vindicate the inept handling of the department.
"As per the guidelines, the water being supplied has to be tested twice a year for biological contamination and once a year for chemical contamination but to due to absence of such laboratories at various district and sub district level, people are being forced to take contaminated water," they informed further adding that at many places no samples were taken for testing by the department. |
