Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 31: The High Court today directed for requisite action from authorities to ensure availability of safe drinking water to the people of the State and sought status report within two months in this regard.
The Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice M K Hanjura in view of the suggestion submitted by the petitioner counsel, directed the Public Health Engineering Department to take requisite action in terms of these suggestions and ensure safe drinking water is provided to general public.
State counsel submitted that authorities are willing to act on the aforesaid suggestions and will take requisite action in terms of the suggestions referred by the counsel and in view of the these submissions, Court directed to ensure availability of safe drinking water and to prevent the pollution with regard to the drinking water within a period of two months from today and to submit a fresh status report.
The suggestion submitted by petitioner counsel include that team of officers, from Department of PHE, Health, Pollution Control Board, Fisheries and concerned District Administration be formulated to indicate the number and location of all the latrines existence on either of bank of 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.
Counsel for the petitioner also submitted that the respondents have annexed the test report along-with the status report which showed that the drinking water is contaminated. However, no explanation has been offered by the respondents in this regard.
Court accordingly directed to offer an explanation with regard to the contaminated water as is indicated from the test report and the remedial measures which they shall take within a period of two months from today to ensure that the effective steps are taken to make the water potable and safe for human consumption.
He further suggested that the Public Health Engineering Department be also directed to indicate as to what remedy of measures they have taken till date to arrest the menace of polluting of water sources which is being supplied to the general public.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel