Muddy water supplied to Manikchak block

Statesman News Service

MALDA, July 6: Villagers in the Manikchak block of Malda have been supplied muddy drinking water by the public health engineering department (arsenic division) for the last few days. The superintending engineer of the PHE (arsenic division), Mr S Hoque, admitted that muddy drinking water was being supplied to Manikchak block of late due to the high turbidity of the water in the Fulohar river. Mr Hoque said: “After the detection of the turbidity problem in the water, we cleaned the water reservoirs. We also applied local technical know-how to solve the problem to some extent.” The superintending officer admitted that the PHE department was running short of alum, which is needed for refining raw water. But PHE finally procured the cleaning agent from an alternative source to tackle the water turbidity problem. Mr Hoque, however, denied that the two damaged filter beds were the main culprits behind turbidity in drinking water. It was learnt that villagers had forbidden their children from using the muddy water that was being supplied to vast areas of Manikchak, Kaliachak II and a part of English Bazaar. Mr Hoque alleged that the villagers were responsible for the problem to some extent. He said that the villagers drilled holes into the supply pipelines. This contaminated the water running through them. Also accusing the villagers of stealing the fittings in the water supply pipelines, Mr Hoque informed that his department has sought help from police to curb this menace. #

Pic collected from site