Drinking Water Safe, No Harm In Boiling: Chief Engineer PHE

KL Report

SRINAGAR

The Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) has suffered from the loss of more than 180 crores with 530 water supply schemes affected across Jammu and Kashmir during the recent catastrophic floods.

The worst hit floods that devastated Jammu and Kashmir on the first week of September affected the water supplies to major portion of valley, making people to suffer at large in the midst of grave crises.

According to the KNS correspondent, PHE alone has suffered from the loss of 180 crores with 530 water supply schemes and more than 100 lift stations damaged. Around 50 filtration plants – supplying safe drinking water to the valeyites has also been damaged due to the recent catastrophic floods.

Chief Engineer PHE Mohammad Muzaffar Lankar when contacted told KNS confirmed that the department has suffered huge losses of water supply schemes and filtration plants during the recent floods. Lanker stated that the affected district is Srinagar wherein most of the water supply schemes of PHE have been damaged at large.

Lanker said that the appropriate steps are being taken to tackle the crises being witnessed at present. He stated further that despite the office of CE PHE and other sub divisions remained marooned in flood waters, the department is tirelessly working to supply safe water to the valley inhabitants. He remarked that scores of engineers, employees and the technicians remained stranded but the speedy measures were taken to restore the services. “70 percent of the water supply schemes have been restored in valley temporarily and safe water is being provided to the people at present.”

He added that other districts wherein PHE machinery was damaged include Pulwama, Islamabad, Kulgam and Shopian. He maintained further that around 100 crore would be needed to restored the lost infrastructure in PHE so that the machinery damaged during devastating floods could be replaced at an earliest.

When asked about the safety measures asked by the health experts to take while consuming water in valley, the Chief Engineer PHE remarked that the water being provided to the valley inhabitants is safe. “In filtration plants being pressed into service at present, high quality liquid chlorine is used to make the drinking water safe for consumption. I can assure you that the water that is being provided to the people at present is not contaminated.” However, Lankar was quick to add that if people prefer boiling the water prior to drinking, there is no harm in same as well.

CE PHE told KNS further that due to the damage caused in the power transmission lines, the supply in water is getting temporarily halted but the department has pressed into service the generators and the places where the water supplies still remain affected, around 100 tankers are everyday sent to those areas to coup up with the scarcity being faced on ground.

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