Patna Residents Forced to Buy Water as Borewells Contaminated in Waterlogged Areas

Patna: Bablu Singh has been forced to buy water for drinking and cooking in Patna’s Kankarbagh residential locality due to contamination of water from their borewell pump following days of water logging. Fearing water borne diseases like diarrhoea, stomach upset, pneumonia, jaundice, urinary tract infection and kidney failure, Singh and Kumar’s families are avoiding water from borewell pump, which has also started smelling.

Singh, a businessmen based in Patna, expressed his anger over failure of government agencies to arrange water tank at P C Colony in Kankarbagh despite repeated demands and complaints. “Our problems have increased after days of water logging ended last week. We cannot take the risk of using contaminated water. There is a clear sign of it as the water has turned yellowish and also started smelling,” Singh told NewsClick.

Purchasing water for drinking and cooking for his family of six is costing at least Rs 200 to 250 daily to Singh.

Ajay Kumar, a resident of Ashok Nagar in Kankarbagh, said, “What can we do? We are helpless and forced to use contaminated water from borewell pump to survive. First, we put the yellowish water in the filter to clean it and after that, we are boiling the water to use it. It is the only safe way as we cannot afford to buy water everyday.”

Also read: Bihar Floods: Angry Waterlogging Victims Protest Across Patna

Singh and Kumar are two of thousands of people in different residential localities in Patna who were affected by waterlogging from September 27 to October 8, and are now forced to live with contaminated water from their borewell pumps.

Another resident Pankaj Kumar said he is also compelled to purchase water in plastic jar for drinking and cooking purposes. He said, “My mother and wife have refused to use borewell pump water as it is still smelling bad. But there is no one to do anything about it. Since our localities remained waterlogged for 10 days, the ground water was contaminated. But even after the water has receded, we have to suffer.”

But those who are dependent on simple hand pumps and supply water, boiling water is a must before using it. “We are using supply water, which is dirty and smelling bad, even after we boil it. Health experts have suggested to boil such water,” Pramod Kumar Bhagat, a resident of Patna, said.

There are people who have asked their children, staying in Delhi, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and other parts of India, to not visit them during the upcoming festival of Diwali, which will be followed by Chhath, the most popular festival in Bihar. “We have suggested children to celebrate the festivals in Pune itself because there is a threat of water borne disease here. We are boiling the water even after filtering it once,” said S K Singh. He pointed that there is no one to provide them with safe drinking water.

Similarly, Maheshwar Jha of Rajendra Nagar said that he has informed his close relative from Hyderabad not to visit his place due to unsafe water. Sunita Devi, a housewife said that the water from boring pump is so foul smelling that it is not fit for even washing clothes.

Fear of contaminated water among people living in residential localities like Kankarbagh, Rajendra Nagar, Bazaar Samti, Gola Road, Saidpur and other places is real. A survey of the water quality conducted by the State Health Society (SHS) recently has revealed the deteriorating water quality in the city.

According to the survey, water available in several areas in Patna is unsafe and contaminated and have shown high concentration of Escherichia coli (E.coli) bacteria. The survey collected samples from different colonies and mohallas and microbiological tests were conducted at the government run Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH).

Also read: Bihar Floods: 250 Patients Test Positive for Dengue in Patna

An epidemiologist associated with the SHS said the microbiological test result of the water samples collected from different places were shocking.

However, an official of the Patna Municipal Corporation, Sushi Kumar Mishra said, “We have received complaints of bad smell in water from several localities. We have arranged facility for bio treatment of the water. Besides, health department has been distributed chlorine tablets and cleanliness drive is going on in full speed.”

Patna DM Kumar Ravi, too, admitted that he received information of contaminated and dirty water in several areas.

Threat of Dengue Epidemic

People of residential localities that remained water logged for days are also facing the threat of a dengue epidemic. There has been no decrease in dengue cases in the last three days.

The situation of dengue is alarming with deaths of six dengue positive patients including a lawyer of Patna High Court, two Bihar police officials and a woman. Over a dozen dengue affected patients who are undergoing treatment in different hospitals are critical.

Officials from hospitals from where these deaths were reported have confirmed that they were tested dengue positive, but the government is yet to confirm their death due to dengue.

Also read: Patna Waterlogging: Dengue Death Causes Panic, Ink Thrown at Union Minister

Till Thursday morning, the number of dengue positive cases in Patna alone stood at over 1,800 while the total number of dengue cases reported in the state was more than 2,000 so far this year.

According to official data, only 409 cases of dengue were reported in the state from January till September 27. But after heavy rainfall from September 27 to 30, that caused waterlogging in Patna for days and floods in 14 districts, dengue cases are mounting day after day.