Summary:
Aurangabad: Activists and residents of the cantonment area have accused the authorities concerned of apathy over water contamination that had led to a gastro outbreak last year. “The faulty design of the pipeline led to leakage twice during the last one-and-a-half months.”Board vice president Padmashri Jaiswal said that the elbow of the pipeline could not bear the water pressure leading to leakages. The problem has, however, been solved now, he added.Mayank Pande of Chawni Yuva Manch said the internal pipelines continue to cause contamination in water supply.Jaiswal said the funds are ready and that repair work on the internal pipeline will be undertaken soon.The board had also discovered that many residents have taken illegal drainage connections or built drainage chambers causing damage to internal water pipelines, leading to contamination of drinking water. More than 5,000 gastro cases were reported between November 10 and 20, 2017.A subsequent enquiry by the Zilla Parishad and state public health department had confirmed that the drinking water supplied to the residents was unfit for drinking.Laxman Deshmukh of the Chhawni Jan Adhikar Manch, said the new overhead pipeline, which was laid after a wait of 11 months, suffers from frequent leakages..