Lodge water complaints via SMS soon

Soon, you will be able to lodge complaints about contaminated water supply through SMS. Sujit Mahamulkar reports.

Soon, you will be able to lodge complaints about contaminated water supply through SMS. “We are developing the system. It’s a simple and convenient method,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner Rajiv Jalota.

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The civic body will announce the SMS number soon.

Hindustan Times has, in a series of articles, reported the high water contamination levels across Mumbai. This paper first reported that the civic Environment Status Report showed that contamination across all 24 wards rose to 26.10% in 2009-2010 from 13.80% in 2008-2009. Hindustan Times also collected samples from 10 housing societies and got them tested at the civic lab; six of them were unfit for consumption.

The complaint-by-SMS system will complement the civic helpline (Tel No 1916). Complaints can also be registered at your local ward office. “The SMS complaints will be forwarded to the ward office concerned. Officials will have to address the grievances immediately,” said Jalota.

The civic body will also ask housing societies to get their drinking water tested. Jalota said it was essential to locate the point of contamination. “A circular will be issued to all cooperative societies about where to collect the sample from. It’s important to know whether the contamination source is in a public place or in a private area,” he added.