Water quality in Kalapet will be evaluated: CM

By Our Staff Reporter

PONDICHERRY, SEPT. 21. Mr. M. O. H. F. Shah Jahan (Cong.) expressed shock and surprise over what he called the utterly contradictory and conflicting replies made to him on an issue relating to drinking water available in Kalapet and its neighbouring pockets.In the earlier part of the question time, the PWD Minister, Mr. N. Rangaswamy, told the member in response to a question that way back in 1998, the authorities felt that drinking water available to the residents of Kalapet emitted foul smell and consequently supply of water was discontinued from the Rs. 26.27-lakh overhead tank constructed in the area.

However, subsequently last year, a site was chosen to make protected water available to the people.

Some 20 minutes later, Mr. Shah Jahan received a reply for another question relating to the same subject in the same village from the Chief Minister stating that no complaint had been received that the water available in Kalapet where Shashun and Chemfab industries were located was bad and was not fit for consumption.

Mr. Shah Jahan maintained that some 10,000 students attached to the Pondicherry Engineering College, the Central University, the Navodaya Vidyalaya, the school for the blind, deaf and dumb students and students of some government schools were facing a threat to their health because of the water supplied to them. But the Chief Minister told him that there was no complaint of threat to health of the consumers.

Mr. Shah Jahan expressed shock over the reply. He also recalled that he had already given the Speaker on Thursday a bottle of hygienically unsafe water available to the residents. He wanted a close monitoring of the modalities adopted in discharge of industrial effluents.

The Chief Minister assured that a proper evaluation would be done and necessary action taken.

Freedom-fighters' pension

The Chief Minister told Mr. R. V. Janakiraman (DMK), Mr. Neela Gangadharan and Mr. A. V. Sridharan (both Cong.) and Mr. K. Lakshminarayanan (PMC) that he had already persuaded the Union Home Minister to permit the Pondicherry administration to revise upward the monthly pension paid to freedom-fighters.

He had also written letters in this connection seeking parity in pension amount with what was paid in Tamil Nadu. Now the Pondicherry administration was paying Rs. 2,200 and there was a plea to raise it to Rs. 3,000.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Southern States
Previous : Govt. rapped for non-collection of kist arrears
           from arrack shop owners
Next     : No move to start zoo: Minister