Stop untreated water from flowing into Ashwani Khud: NCDC

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 12

The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, has asked the state Health and Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Departments to stop the flow of untreated water from sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Malyana, Dhalli, Baragaon and Lalpani into the Ashwani Khud water treatment station.

However, the government is yet to decide whether to lift water from Ashwani Khud or not. Both water samples from the NCDC and National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, have revealed that hepatitis virus has infected private water tanks and Ashwani Khud. The STPs are releasing water from sewage treatment plants without proper treatment.

The state government is downplaying recommendations of the NCDC and the NIV, Pune, by keeping the findings under wraps.

The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) has refused to distribute water from Ashwani Khud even if water samples pass the test in the future.

Deputy Mayor Tikender Panwar said we have asked the IPH Department to tap the Koti and Barandi water sources instead of Ashwani Khud.

Like NIV, a three-member team from the NCDC had collected water samples from the Malyana sewage treatment plant and collection point of the Ashwani Khud water source and found that water samples failed the test, sources said.

The NCDC and NIV have submitted the reports to the state government for initiating immediate measures to disinfect the water system and check the hepatitis-E virus outbreak in Shimla and Solan.

As many as 1,350 persons suffered from jaundice in Shimla while the toll has reached 300 in Solan in the past one-and-a-half month.

Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Vineet Chaudhary said they had discussed both reports at a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary and directed the IPH Department to chlorinate the sewage treatment plant and Ashwani Khud water lifting system as per the water protocol.

The water quality of the STPs was being monitored by the state Pollution Control Board while the IPH was monitoring the Ashwani Khud water source for both Shimla and Solan, he added.

Additional Chief Secretary (IPH) PC Dhiman, who earlier directed the IPH department to take corrective measures in running the STPs properly, said he was busying in a meeting with Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh.