Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Feb 13: The Opposition members stormed the Assembly over the issue of poor drinking water facility and spread of jaundice Friday.
While the House was adjourned thrice during zero hour and finally for the day at around 3 pm over the issue of posting of outsiders to class III and IV posts in western and southern districts, poor drinking water and jaundice were the other issues which the opposition members used as their means to corner the state government.
Spread of jaundice in different parts of the state is not because of contaminated drinking water, Housing and Urban Development Minister Pushpendra Singhdeo told the Assembly today.
Targeting the state government for its failure to provide safe drinking water – the lack of which is considered one of the main reasons for spread of jaundice in the state – Congress MLA Naba Das asked the Housing and Urban Development Minister Pushpendra Singhdeo what steps the government has taken to test quality of water. He also wanted to know about the parameters on which water is being examined in different NACs, municipalities and urban areas in the state.
Das alleged that the water samples in urban areas of state are not being examined as per norms fixed by the Bureau of Indian Standards. Some members also raised the issue of people facing health disorders due to drinking water mixed with fluoride in some parts of the state.
BJD legislator Jiban Pradip Dash said that the leakage in old pipelines is contaminating drinking water, and asked the H&UD minister to take adequate steps in this regard.
In his reply, Singhdeo said the state government is taking all measures to provide safe and pure drinking water to people throughout the state. “There are several other reasons for spread of jaundice in the state and drinking water was not the only cause,” the minister said, adding, “Water samples are being tested on the basis of 17 parameters. Soon, all residents of all NACs, municipalities and panchayats will be provided with drinking water.”
While the H&UD minister agreed that the public health laboratory doesn’t have the facility for examining heavy metal and toxic materials, he, however, said this facility will be created soon and the government is in the process for inviting tender in this regard.
Sources said the district administration is taking steps to make people aware about prevention of the disease and providing chorine tablets to purify drinking water. With nine new cases testing positive for jaundice, the total number of people affected with water-borne disease in Cuttack went up to 113 Friday.
