DJB slams civic agency’s water report

The Delhi Jal Board on Thursday hit back at the North Delhi Municipal Corporation which had claimed that nearly 50 per cent of water supplied in its area was contaminated and unfit for drinking. 

The Jal board questioned the methodology that the North Corporation adopted in conducting the tests, saying it didn’t collect the samples when water was being supplied, but took it from stored water. 

“With a network of more than 16,000 km of water pipeline, on an average 25 to 30 complaints related to local contamination issues are received per day, mainly from densely-populated and unplanned areas. DJB always takes up such complaints on priority and they are immediately referred to the Quality Control wing, which gets the samples lifted from the affected pockets and remedial actions are carried out further,” the DJB said. 

The DJB said the corporation “has not carried out joint sampling, in spite of repeated requests”. 

Alleging that the water quality survey was done with malafide intent of raising alarm, the DJB in a statement said: “The gist of the report is that MCD collected 258 samples from different areas of Delhi, of which more than 50 per cent samples were claimed to be unfit for drinking. DJB has not yet received the copy of the report and, therefore, cannot respond specifically to the issue.”

“DJB has a standard process for testing the quality of drinking water, and the water is tested for physico-chemical and bacteriological parameters. DJB carries out water sample tests by an independent unit headed by Director, Treatment and Quality Control (DTQC), the sample testing unit of DJB,” the statement said. 

with thanks : Indian Express : LINK for detailed news.