Bijnor: Water from as many as 90,000 ‘shallow hand pumps’ — installed for personal use by families, and which have a depth of less than 100 feet — has been declared unfit for drinking by the district authorities here. Jal Nigam officials are set to paint these hand pumps red so that nobody drinks water from them.Earlier in 2005, Jal Nigam had found fluoride in the drinking water of three villages in Bijnor —Kadapur, Kumheda and Murtazapur. This is the first time that contaminated water in such a large scale has been found in Bijnor.As part of the Centre’s national rural drinking programme, a survey of shallow hand pumps in the district was conducted. Its report revealed that water of around 90,000 shallow hand pumps in the district installed by villagers for their personal use was contaminated. Excess iron and other elements as a result of sewage seeping into the ground were found in the water drawn from these hand pumps.According to data available with the district authorities, out of 5.30 lakh hand pumps in rural areas, as many as 90,000 have a depth of less than 100 ft.District authorities now instructed Jal Nigam to paint these hand pumps red so that people do not drink water from them.Talking to TOI, chief development officer Indramani Tripathi said, “There are around 90,000 to 1 lakh shallow hand pumps in 1,128 gram panchayats. Due to lack of awareness, villagers are using polluted water, exposing themselves to health problems. We are making villagers aware about the dangers of drinking and using water drawn from shallow hand pumps. Due to seepage of stagnant pond water or drain water underground, groundwater in less than 100 feet depth has become polluted.” He recommended that those using shallow hand pumps should switch to government pumps in their locality as the water is drawn from depths beyond 100 ft.Meanwhile, drinking water supply at the three villages where excessive floride was found in 2005 will begin now within two months, officials said.

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