Reduce, reuse, recycle waste water to curb pollution

A vital component of the ecosystem is water. People face many major health hazards due to contaminated water. The water quality has fallen to a new low. Higher authorities should conduct an area-wise survey and check the quality of water. Collection of water sample and lab test should also be done. We should educate and aware other people about contaminated water and its prevention. We should use RO in our houses. It is time to take a multidisciplinary view of water. Variety of human activities, such as industrial, agricultural and domestic, causing water pollution should be curbed at the earliest.

Kalpana Maurya

Proper management of industrial waste

Water is the elixir of life. Presently, the quality and availability of fresh water resources is the most pressing of many environmental challenges on the national horizon. Releasing inadequately treated waste water into natural water bodies is the prime cause of degradation of aquatic ecosystem. In turn, this can lead to health problem among people living downstream. Industrial wastes are the main cause of water pollution in metropolitan cities. Control of water pollution requires appropriate infrastructure and management plans. In order to prevent water pollution, all the industries must follow standard norms. Strict laws should be enforced by the Pollution Control Board. Arrangement of adequate sewage facilities and establishment of water treatment plants are some of the other measures. 

Kamaldeep Kaur 

Impose heavy fine on wrongdoers

Water contamination is one of the major problems we are facing today. Contaminated water is hazardous for life. Preserving water is our major responsibility. Various human activities such as taking bath and washing clothes in river are quite normal in rural areas. The same water is then used  for drinking, which leads to many hazards. The authorities should draft strict rules in this regard. Wrong doers should be strictly punished. Heavy fines should be imposed and in severe cases, rigorous punishment should be rewarded. Many industrialists dispose water laced with chemicals in water bodies. As a responsible citizen, we have certain duties towards the nature. We should not throw waste products in the rivers. We should not let dirty water accumulate in our area. Civic body should take care of proper drainage system in the locality. We should try to use minimum chemicals like soap and detergent as this practice also leads to water contamination. Children must be educated. They must know the value of water. 

Ritu Priya

Control human activities causing water pollution

Water is considered to be the life line, not only of human beings, but of all creatures on the planet. Safe, pure and clean water is the first and basic requirement of healthy and long life. If water is contaminated, it might lead to the eruption of many diseases, hence jeopardising the health of many living beings. So, it becomes the duty of the local government to protect and provide safe and non- contaminated water to its citizens. We must also make use of biodegradable products and not dump anything in open to avoid it from contaminating water. As per the report of WHO, there are 3.4 million deaths every year due to water pollution or water-related diseases. We all must lend our support to the local government to ensure the supply of non-contaminated water to everybody.

Farzana Khan

Need for authorities to gear up

The sanitation system should be regularly checked and maintained. The pipes and fittings should be cleaned and fixed from time to time and be updated. Any repairs that are required to be made should be made immediately. The complaint of contamination should be addressed as soon as possible by the concerned authorities. Timely action can prevent the spread of diseases and save many lives. Regular control should be exercised. Checking, cleaning and updating should be done. This will reduce the problem of water contamination to a large extent.

Ekroop Kaur

Treat water before consumption 

Water contamination must be prevented as consumption of such water becomes a cause for many water-borne diseases such as cholera. Underground water, sometimes gets contaminated with heavy metals. Water supplied by municipality gets contaminated generally due to human errors rendering it toxic for human consumption. The Municipal Corporation must ensure proper sewerage system and must prevent it from choking. Further, to prevent contamination of this source of water, the public must also play its role. It must not throw garbage  in the drains to save from clogging and must lodge a complaint to the corporation about sewerage line leaking or sewerage water getting cumulated anywhere and the corporation must attend to it immediately and undertake repair of the sewerage system. The corporation must maintain a separate telephone number for lodging such complaints. The public must also be educated to boil water before consumption. This step will ensure use of pure drinking water. The water supplied from the over-head tanks by the corporation must be treated with chlorine before supply in the city. Further, during rainy season, the corporation must watch and prevent water from contamination and distribute chlorine tablets to public free of cost.”

G Dev 

Make authorities accountable

Having easy and economical access to potable water is the elementary right of every person. Due to increase in urban population, in the last two decades, pressure on precursory water supply system has touched the sky. Concerned authorities have failed to update and maintain the pipelines and other machinery meant for proper supply. With the gap widening between demand-supply, it will be going to be a serious problem in the near future. People should question and demand from their representatives. When bills, taxes and cesses are paid on time, then authorities are bound to provide people with the best of amenities.

Pardeep Singh Bhamra

Check sewage discharge into water bodies

Providing clean and pure drinking water is one of the primary duties of the MC. The contaminated water supply is a source of many water-borne diseases. The root cause of this problem is the careless attitude of the officers and the employees of the MC. Contamination of drinking water mainly occurs due to the leaking water pipes. The workers do not repair these leaking pipes in time which results in the contamination of water. Leaking sewage pipes is another cause of water contamination. The possible solution to this problem is the regular check-up and immediate repair of the leaking water pipes. The areas should be earmarked for each worker clearly. The sewage pipes should be laid at a proper distance from the water pipes and the leakage from the same should be regularly checked and plugged. So, it is the right time when MC should stop playing with the precious lives of the city people and do something concrete to solve the problem at the earliest. A stringent action should be taken against the erring and lethargic officers as well as the careless employees.

Bir Devinder Singh Bedi

Water waste, a threat to biodiversity

Water contamination is one of the serious problems of the city. Dumping of untreated sewage and industrial waste in water bodies such as Buddha Nallah is a common sight, thereby making it worst day by day. Cleaning and de-silting of the nullah is being carried out by Ludhiana Municipal Corporation but effluents in the nullah have reached an alarming state. Microbes should be discharged into Nullah, which will eat waste components of effluents discharged into it. For this, polluted water should be passed through filters, which could be made of temporary barricades fortified with microbial consortia. Besides it, saplings should be planted along the drains. The treated water then can be used for gardening, toilets, and even for irrigation purposes. Common effluent treatment plants at dying industries should be installed as the dying industries waste is the main polluter. The erring industries should be panelized heavily and there should be check on releasing untreated waste of factories and industries into the drains of Nallah. So strict action and remedial measures should be taken by Municipal corporation to stop industries to throw untreated waste in the Nallah. Penalty in the form of monetary and corporal punishment should be employed. It is the moral responsibility of the citizens to keep the city clean and green.

Jasdeep Kaur

OPEN HOUSE COMMENT
Towards a sustainable smart city: Need to provide basic water amenities
Minna Zutshi

Water samples taken in the month of November from more than 20 government schools in the district failed the purity test. Residents of some areas in Jagraon recently complained of getting contaminated water. Ludhiana, a smart city in the making, is unable to provide potable water to its residents. The right to potable water is the basic right of all, irrespective of their socio-economic status, age or profession.  

In fact, the outbreak of many dangerous diseases is due to water contamination. Water-borne diseases break out with alarming regularity in many areas of the district and the authorities wake up only after the damage is already done. Apart from the immediate redressal of the cases wherein water samples fail the purity test, a long-term solution is mandated in the areas where water is contaminated with sewerage or industrial waste.

OPEN HOUSE QUESTION

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