AP: Plea to conduct water sample analysis at consumer end

APPCB should be empowered into a truly professional body, not subject to extraneous influences, said EAS Sarma

Visakhapatnam: Former Union Secretary EAS Sarma has urged the state government to direct all municipalities to carry out water sample analysis at the consumer end on a frequent periodical basis and subject the process of analysis to an independent expert evaluation.

In a letter to the Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy on Wednesday, he also urged him to direct the Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department and Panchayat Raj & Rural Department to constitute independent bodies of experts to inspect the catchment areas of all water reservoirs in the State that provide drinking water to the people and take such urgent measures that will minimise pollution. He wanted the government to examine the extent to which PVC pipes can be replaced by a more benign water conveyance piping system to minimise the likelihood of lead contamination of water and direct the concerned departments also to investigate how vehicle batteries containing lead are being disposed of.

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Referring to the recent case of several people falling seriously ill in Eluru which caused widespread public concern, Dr. Sarma said he was happy that the Chief Minister’s visit to Eluru had triggered a detailed investigation to be taken up into the circumstances that have resulted in such a sudden illness among hundreds of people.

“The role of APPCB in all this needs to be investigated. Despite the statutory powers that APPCB has, the fact that there are a large number of unsafe polluting industrial units are flourishing in the State should make the government rethink the role of APPCB. APPCB should be empowered into a truly professional body, not subject to extraneous influences. This is far too serious a matter that cannot be ignored, as whatever the State government is spending on public health is being neutralised by the indiscriminate manner in which the Centre and the states are allowing polluting industries to come up on a large scale,” he stated.

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