Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Aug 2: High Court today sought affidavit from the PHE Department for ensuring availability of safe drinking water to the people of the State and granted week’s time to it as to what have been done in this regard till date.
Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Tashi Rabstan in view of the suggestion already submitted by the petitioner counsel directed the Public Health Engineering Department to inform the court as to what steps have been taken till date for ensuring safe drinking water to general public.
Counsel appearing for petitioner invited the attention of the court to the directions of May 31 and submitted that despite the directions issued on that date no action has been taken by the PHE authorities since two months have lapsed.
The DB after these submissions granted week’s time to authorities to inform the Court by filing an affidavit. Court directed the affidavit should indicate as to what steps have been taken by the authorities from May 31 to July 31
State counsel submitted before the court that the concerned authorities have taken steps to ensure implementation of the directions of May 31, however, the same could not be brought to its logical conclusion and sought time for the same, which the court granted to him and posted the matter for further consideration on August 13.
Petitioner Counsel submitted certain suggestion which include that team of officers, from Department of PHE, Health, Pollution Control Board, Fisheries and concerned District Administr-ation be formulated to indicate the number and location of all the latrines existence on either of bank all rivers, nallas, streams and tributaries which are source of drinking water for consumption of the inhabitants of State.
“The Pollution Control Board may also be directed to indicate as to what measures have been taken against the defaulters till date, who have installed latrines on the banks of the water sources and the Health Department may also be directed to indicate the prevalent diseases the local populace is suffering from the contaminated
drinking water, and to produce the full bio-data annually of the last 10 years and the remedies taken by the department to prevent such diseases”, he suggested.
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