In a shocking disclosure, around 29.2 percent populace in Jammu and Kashmir are being supplied untreated tap water, a survey by NITI Aayog reveals.According to data released by NITI Aayog, Jammu and Kashmir has around 2 million consumers registered with JK’s Public Health Engineering (PHE) department.
The report mentions that of the total 20,15,088 consumers, only 63.8 percent have access to tap water. It further states that out of this only 34.7 percent get water from treated sources. The remaining 29.2 percent are provided water from the untreated sources.
The official report dents the claims of the state government which has been boasting about providing treated water supply to the people in JK.
The Aayog figures mention that 6.5 percent people in JK still use well water of which 1.9 percent are covered wells and 4.7 percent uncovered.
It states that around 11.4 percent consumers get water through hand pumps, tube wells 1.5 percent, springs 6.2 percent river, canals 6.7 percent, tanks, ponds 0.7 percent and rest 3.1 percent get water from other sources.
Ironically, as per PHE officials, JK does not have a state-level water testing lab – a high-tech laboratory where water samples can be tested to detect presence of harmful toxics such as zinc, pesticides, etc. which cannot be detected by normal water testing procedures.
“Currently there are 40 testing labs functioning in Kashmir but none of them are equipped to detect the presence of pesticides or zinc level in the drinking water supplied to people in Kashmir,” said a senior official of Public Health Engineering department.
Talking to KP, Chief Engineer, PHE, G. M Bhat rebutted the claims of the centre government’s NITI Aayog.
“We are collecting data from various divisions about the number of consumers who are being provided tap water from untreated sources,” Bhat said adding that majority of the areas in Kashmir division are getting tap water from treated sources.
“In Srinagar, around 100 percent consumers are being provided tap water from treated sources,” he said and added that there are some hilly areas which get water from untreated sources such as nallahs, rivers but they are very few in number.
He said that JK has abundant water sources. “Like other states, JK doesn’t have fluoride, iron concentration found in water. Unlike neighbouring state Punjab where arsenic effects are found in water, here we have only turbidity issue with which is being treated at filtration plants.”
