Water woes in the National Capital Region are far from getting over. While Gurgaon faced water scarcity recently after a canal breach, Noida residents are battling the quality of water that is being supplied to their homes.
Residents complain of hard water being supplied in several sectors. They claim that the water contains total dissolved solids in the range of 1,500 mg per litre to 2,000 mg per litre when the permissible limit is 300 mg per litre.
The Indian Medical Association president Dr.S.P. Jain said, "The poor quality of water in Noida is causing ailments. Many patients have complained of dirt, oil and sewer water in tap water A Sector 40 patient reported that when he puts milk to make tea in the water, it gets spoilt. Posh colonies are using mineral water even for cooking."
The authorities claim that Ganga water is mixed with ground water supply to dilute the total dissolved solids level, but residents say it hardly helps.
Noida project engineer O.E Gupta admitted that the ground water in Noida is hard in some pockets because of excessive presence of Calcium and Magnesium (it ranges from 108 mg per litre to 838 mg per litre when it should not be more than 300 mg per liter in any condition). "Water & Power Consultancy Services (India) Limited (WAPCOS) had recommended dilution of Noida's hard ground water with better quality water from the Ganga. Presently, Noida gets 20 cusecs (48MLD) Ganga water The shortfall is of 38 MLD according to the present demand," said Gupta. He said a project to get 80 cusecs (192MLD) of additional Ganga water would be completed in the next 2 years.
Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Association general secretary Munna Kumar said during cleaning of the Ganga Canal, sometimes Noida gets only the ground water without any treatment.
Some apartments have set up their own treatment plants.
"The association is considering blocklevel water treatment plants. The representatives of the residents' bodies have been asked to send in their suggestions," Kumar said.
Reacting on the complaints of filth in tap water, Gupta said such cases are of shorter duration caused by leakage in the pipeline.
"Another cause is lack of cleaning of the underground reservoirs. Also sometimes, silt gets pumped into the pipeline because of a low water level," he said.
Source: HT, 28/03/2008
