Officials told to closely monitor water supply for any contamination

Deputy Commissioner instructs water testing for public safety; officials warned of responsibility for contamination, urging hygiene and cleanliness.

The Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra on Saturday instructed the officials to subject raw water to testing before public distribution as a precautionary measure against outbreak of any water-borne diseases.

He conducted a review meeting and also held a video conferencing with local bodies involved in the task of water supply and impressed upon them the imperatives of ensuring testing and ensure that the water meant for supply was fit for human consumption.

The officials were instructed to ensure that there was no contamination of drinking water with polluted water besides issuing directions for cleaning of all storage units and tanks through chlorination.

In places where drinking water source are borewells, the officials were told to ensure that there was no sewage or any other form of pollutants which was stagnant in the vicinity. In such instances measures should be initiated to drain the stagnant water and concretise the area.

The officials were also warned that they would be held responsible in case there were incidents of contamination of drinking water that was supplied to the public.

Calling for thrust on shoring up hygiene and cleanliness in villages, the local officials were told to make sure that the drainage system were functional while attention was also drawn to the imperatives of maintaining hygiene at the roadside eateries.

Calling for greater coordination among the officials Mr. Rajendra called upon the health department to ensure that there were no cases of dengue or chikungunya anywhere in the district. He also called for regular monitoring of water pipelines to spot any leakage which could also result in pollutants seeping into the supply lines.