No arsenic free water for residents of English Bazaar

MALDA, Nov. 5: Arsenic free drinking water supply has been suspended for the last seven days in English Bazaar villages and a part of its municipal areas after the Pujas ended. The situation has created trouble for the residents since they are now forced to drink that water as their own reserves of water have been exhausted as well. It has rendered jobless many people who collected arsenic free water from the street taps and sell the water to the residents on a daily basis. The executive engineer PHE (arsenic division) Mr AK Das initially denied the problem and claimed they had already started water supply two days ago. When asked specifically about the spots where the water supply is still suspended he said: “I am looking into the matter.” He told The Statesman over the phone that “due to power cut and a technical fault after the Pujas the water supply was suspended for a few days but it was restored two days ago.” According to the officials power cut is a big problem to supply water at the English Bazaar. Power cut continues unabated in Malda as well. The electricity department today did not supply power from 12.05 p.m. to 1.45 p.m., said an official. The civic body has to lift water from ground level to the reserves and distribute it through pipelines because there is no alternative source of surface water treatment plant. Sources said that municipal engineering department has started collecting data regarding the confluence points of Mahananda and Kalindri River to prepare surface water treatment plant. This project would help Old Malda and English Bazaar municipalities to provide additional sources of drinking water. n SNS