Chennai:
The Chennai Corporation and the food safety department have identified
15 places in Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts from where water is
drawn from bore wells and open tanks by private tankers and supplied in
the city. Soon, a joint squad of the revenue, health and police
departments will inspect other water sources being exploited in these
districts.
Medavakkam, Padur, Nanmangalam, Keelkattalai and Kovilanchery in Kancheepuram and Poonamallee, Chenerkuppam, Veetalathottam, Alapakkam, Padianallur and Red Hills in Tiruvallur are among the places identified after two migrant workers died in Pallikaranai after drinking water supplied by a private tanker. About 107 private water tankers across the city were inspected since September 5 and it was found that the chlorine content in the water was very low.
All is not well with Metrowater tanker lorries, too, with officials finding that chlorine content in the water in seven lorries was very low. A senior Metrowater official said: “Some tankers are operated on a contract basis and there is a chance of contamination due to the lack of cleanliness. We will initiate frequent raids to ensure water is fit for consumption.”
A senior corporation official said: “Several private tanker firms supply water drawn from neighbouring districts and the chlorine content is low in water in most of the seized lorries. We have added chlorine to water in some of the lorries.”
Other officials said staff shortage was affecting the raids and that mushrooming private water tanker firms were compounding the problem. “It’s difficult to conduct raids every day. So we decided to trace the sources of these firms in the two neighbouring districts” said an official. He said the collected samples would be sent to analysts in the public health department. “If there is any problem, action will be initiated against these firms,” he said.
Sources said private water tankers supplied to hotels, apartment complexes, hospitals as well as to construction sites and that complaints were pouring in that most of these tankers were drawing water from bore wells and open tanks without any purification. Drinking water samples should have a minimum chlorine level of 0.2 parts per million (ppm), but most of the water sourced from bore wells and open wells rarely met the standards, they said.
On the other hand, many residents in the city said they didn’t have an alternative. “There is no regular supply by Metrowater. So we have to depend on private lorries for our daily needs,” said a resident in Ambattur. The colour and smell of water supplied by private tankers were different but they had no option, he said.
Medavakkam, Padur, Nanmangalam, Keelkattalai and Kovilanchery in Kancheepuram and Poonamallee, Chenerkuppam, Veetalathottam, Alapakkam, Padianallur and Red Hills in Tiruvallur are among the places identified after two migrant workers died in Pallikaranai after drinking water supplied by a private tanker. About 107 private water tankers across the city were inspected since September 5 and it was found that the chlorine content in the water was very low.
All is not well with Metrowater tanker lorries, too, with officials finding that chlorine content in the water in seven lorries was very low. A senior Metrowater official said: “Some tankers are operated on a contract basis and there is a chance of contamination due to the lack of cleanliness. We will initiate frequent raids to ensure water is fit for consumption.”
A senior corporation official said: “Several private tanker firms supply water drawn from neighbouring districts and the chlorine content is low in water in most of the seized lorries. We have added chlorine to water in some of the lorries.”
Other officials said staff shortage was affecting the raids and that mushrooming private water tanker firms were compounding the problem. “It’s difficult to conduct raids every day. So we decided to trace the sources of these firms in the two neighbouring districts” said an official. He said the collected samples would be sent to analysts in the public health department. “If there is any problem, action will be initiated against these firms,” he said.
Sources said private water tankers supplied to hotels, apartment complexes, hospitals as well as to construction sites and that complaints were pouring in that most of these tankers were drawing water from bore wells and open tanks without any purification. Drinking water samples should have a minimum chlorine level of 0.2 parts per million (ppm), but most of the water sourced from bore wells and open wells rarely met the standards, they said.
On the other hand, many residents in the city said they didn’t have an alternative. “There is no regular supply by Metrowater. So we have to depend on private lorries for our daily needs,” said a resident in Ambattur. The colour and smell of water supplied by private tankers were different but they had no option, he said.
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