Studies confirm poor water quality in Mumbai

Dead fish in my drinking water source

As monsoon comes, Mumbai's water supply gets contaminated. This year, too, the situation seems grim. Two recent studies have indicted Mumbai's drinking water supply. One study has found Escherichia coli (E coli) in the city's drinking water supply, while the other has traced high levels of oil and grease in a major drinking water source.

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (mcgm), in its annual water samples testing report, has said 10 samples of drinking water collected from posh Mumbai suburbs such as Colaba, Byculla and Dahisar were loaded with E coli.

The bacterium causes gastroenteritis, diarrhoea and severe kidney damage. Another 80 samples were highly contaminated with coliform bacteria and were unfit for drinking, said the report. According to the who, the level of coliform bacteria in drinking water should not be exceed 10 per 100 ml, whereas E coli should be absent.

A blame game has already begun. mcgm contends that Mumbai's water supply pipelines are almost 100 years old and leaky. Hence, during the rainy season, sewage seeps through the pipelines and contaminates drinking water with E coli. It also blames the residents' societies for not cleaning water tanks regularly. Health experts, however, differ. "Every year during monsoon, I receive a large number of patients suffering from gastroenteric problems linked chiefly to contaminated water…But residents are helpless as they cannot sue the mcgm. The Indian government has only recommended drinking water standards but not made them legally binding," says a physician based in Gorai.

In a separate incident, over 700 kg of dead fish were found floating in the Bhatsa Lake on July 10. The lake, located in Thane district, is a major source of drinking water to Mumbai.

Initially the authorities blamed it on local residents for poisoning the lake water to catch fish. But later tests by Mumbai-based Central Institute of Fisheries Education showed high levels of oil and grease effluents in the water—89 mg per litre (mg/l). The permissible limit of such contaminants in water sources is up to 10 mg/l. Local residents say the waste oil has been released by Shahpur-based Liberty Oil Mills Ltd.

mcgm has demanded action against the company and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board is investigating the matter.

NIDHI JAMWAL

SURYA SEN

"The next step is to build high dams"

In contrast to his flamboyant predecessor Laloo Yadav, BIhar chief minister Nitish Kumar has carved an image of being focused on governance. Walking our of his Patna secretariat office after a series of meetings late on Tuesday night, Kumar spoke to Prashant Jha about the Maoist, Madhes and monsoon.

Nepali Times: Are you worried about the Maoist win in Nepal?

Nitish Kumar: Why sould I be worried? We welcome the election results and look forward to working with the new government. The Maoists have come the democratic way and are a legitimate party. Their links with Naxals have never been proven. It is mere speculation and e hae no reason to believe they will support sujch activities on our side. This is the verdict of the people and we honour it.


Madhesi leaders met you recently to ask for support for their struggle. What do you think about the Madhes issue?


They did ncome and speak to me and I listened to their views. But this is a problem that has to be solved within Nepal. There is constituent assembly now. Madhesis have representation within the house. They, like others in Nepal, have legitimate demands which can be addressed in the new framework. This is not a mandate for one-party rule anyway. From what I understand, the message from the people of Nepal is that all their political leaders should work together. Everyone, including the Madhesis, must be taken together in this process.


Tarai armed militants are reported to be based in BIhar.


Well people of the tarai come and go. This is an open border. We share a roti-beti relationship. Our lives are intertwined and our problems are the same. We have always been ready to help nepal and during elections, we tightened up our security to ensure things remained calm.


What are the key areas in which you would like to co-operatin with the new government in Nepal?


Water management is of course a priority. Can you imagine what a relief it would be for us in Bihar if the annual floods do not devastate lives? So much of \my work goes to waste every monsoon. The roads get destroyed, we have to spend at least Rs 3,000 crore in relief and rehabilitation. This wiol help Nepal also, by stopping floods in your tarai and enabling the development of hydropower. What we have signed are a few run-of-the-river projects. The next step must be to build high dams.

-Nepali Times weekly,