Contaminated stream water badly affects people’s health in Solan

SOLAN: Multiple cases of jaundice have surfaced at Shoolini University near Solan. According to sources, the local stream, which serves as the primary source of drinking water for the university, was contaminated with sewage. The health authorities have instructed the university to disband the current faulty drinking water.

Dr NK Gupta, Medical Officer, Health, said the university had been directed to take all preventive measures such as the use of bottled water and cleaning of water distribution tanks to ensure that the disease did not spread further. He said that the water samples from the campus as well as pollutants of a sewage treatment plant had been drawn and sent to a Pune-based National Virology Lab for analysis. Sumit Sood, Executive Engineer said that the university had already been directed to maintain the optimum level of residual chlorine of 0.2 ppm in water supplied to staff and students and sanitise all existing sources of water as a preventive step.

The university had also been served a notice previously in March, directing them to abandon the lift water supply scheme being operated by its authorities from a Solan khud. On a probe by a team of officials of Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) department back in March, it was found out that water quality of the stream was deteriorating due to sewage discharge from the university. According to PK Khosla, Shoolini’s vice-chancellor, all due measures such as cleaning of tanks have been undertaken. Meanwhile, alternative arrangements for water have been made.