Initial findings show negligence by IPH staff

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, April 11

Officials of the Special Investigating Unit (SIT) have found negligence by the staff of the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department in supplying contaminated water to the people responsible for the jaundice outbreak as per their initial findings.

Sources in the SIT confirmed that water drawn from the Ashwani Khud is initially lifted and collected in a tank at village Shilli and then distributed to the town and its surrounding areas by the IPH staff. The water is treated prior to being lifted and since several cases of jaundice have come to light in the Shilli area the role of the IPH staff was under scanner as it appeared adequate treatment of the water had not been undertaken.

As many as 770 cases of jaundice were detected in Solan and its surrounding area since January this year. The SIT officials were, however, focusing on the cases which had emerged since November-December last year along with the cases detected this year by the health authorities.

The SIT officials were also inquiring into various other issues like contamination of water from the Giri and Ashwani Water Supply Schemes from sewage treatment plants. Other probable sources of water contamination lying in the precincts of these schemes were also being inquired into by the SIT officials.

The IPH staff was being quizzed on various issues pertaining to the protocol adopted in purifying water at various stages, cost involved in executing such measures, periodicity of water sampling and other related technical issues confided an official.

Since no death has been reported due to jaundice in the Solan area, the officials of the IPH have heaved a sigh of relief and apart from negligence in undertaking optimal purification of the supplied water no serious flaw had surfaced till now.

Water supply from the Ashwani Khud Scheme, which was put on hold on January 23, was yet to be resumed though reports from the Pune-based National Virology Lab had declared the water free of hepatitis-E virus after hyper chlorination of the water was undertaken by the IPH staff.