Drinking water not fit to drink

According to a HT report, a NGO has found harmful substances in samples of drinking water collected from city’s different areas.

That harmful substances are present in Delhi water sources is no secret. But, according to a report by a non-governmental organisation, Hazard Centre, such substances are present even in the so-called potable water supplied to our homes.

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Hazard Centre tested 53 Delhi Jal Board (DJB) water samples from various areas in Delhi and found only two of the 53 samples potable.

“We found the levels of faecal contanimation, fluoride and arsenic were above the permissible limit in many areas,” said Dunnu Roy, director, Hazard Centre.

The water samples were taken from various areas such as Sonia Vihar, Najafgarh, Mehrauli, Okhla, Commonwealth Games Village and Chattarpur.

The tests were conducted at two places, the Jawaharlal Nehru University laboratory and People’s Science Institute laboratory in Dehradun.

“The samples were from bore wells, tube wells, piped water, tankers and surface water supply,” Roy said.

The study was conducted in October last year with support from international NGO, Water Aid. The study found 38 samples had faecal contamination, 11 samples had iron above the permissible limit and 17 samples had arsenic above permissible limits.

Roy revealed this at a conference on the Delhi Groundwater Bill on Tuesday.

Hazard Centre demanded that DJB should set a protocol for joint monitoring of water quality and that there be proactive disclosure of the results of water sample tests.

The DJB denied contamination. “We test between 300 and 400 water samples everyday. Some hand pump samples and bore well samples do not have potable water but we have clearly indicated the same at the outlet,” said R.K. Garg, member, Water Works, DJB.