Who will clean Jalandhar?: Contamination threat to safe water supply in city

In Jalandhar city (within MC limits), water consumption for various purposes by residents each day is 160 million litres. All this is being extracted from the fast depleting groundwater reserves of the city.

Manpower shortage

• Jalandhar has about 1,500-km long sewerage pipeline, much of which traverses through old city areas. However, amidst a shortage of manpower with exasperated councillors complaining of non-responsive contractors, many areas battle sewerage woes for months.
• In July this year alone, as many as 50-60 complaints were being received daily by the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation regarding sewerage blockage or overflow. This coincided with an increased reportage of water contamination from various areas.
• The key areas where diarrhoea/viral outbreaks or contaminated water supply was reported included Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, Babu Labh Singh Nagar, Baba Kahan Das Nagar, Rattan Nagar, Bhargo Camp, Raseela Nagar, Mittha Bazar, Kabir Vihar, New Gautam Nagar and Mata Sant Kaur Nagar, among others.
• Barring this, there are several areas where garbage dumps also contaminate water.

Jalandhar has been declared to be in the dark zone by the Central Groundwater Board of India with millions of litres of water being extracted from the city’s groundwater reserves. Despite the huge supply of groundwater, diseases, contamination, pollution and sewer-mixing is reported in the city’s water supply by the residents with the arrival of the rainy season.

In the past three years, the number of failed water samples in Jalandhar MC has seen a constant rise, almost triple. While over 20 samples failed the test in 2022, over 40 samples tested by the Municipal Corporation failed last year. This year, highly placed officials said over 50 samples have already failed the test within the MC limits.

Across the municipal limits of Jalandhar, as many as 600 (legal) tube-wells installed by the Municipal Corporation supply clean drinking water to millions of homes. There are as many as 1 lakh 55,000 (legal) tap water connections in Jalandhar within the MC limits. These do not include a network of illegal water connections and submersible pumps.

The supply of clean drinking water within the city limits is an issue which is deeply intertwined with the old, rusty sewerage pipelines in the old city areas.

The municipal limits of Jalandhar are full of old city areas, congested localities, bazaars and narrow alleys where even taking sewerage suction machines during the monsoons is impossibility.

The drinking water crisis, reported primarily during the monsoons is however a problem which aggravates with each passing year. The heavily populated Bastis of the city are among the areas where outbreak of diseases due to contaminated water supply is reported almost every year. Most of these areas include those where there is simultaneously a sewerage problem, the reason being the mixing of water with sewerage.

Jalandhar has about 1,500-km long sewerage pipeline, much of which traverses through old city areas. However, amidst a shortage of manpower with exasperated councillors complaining of non-responsive contractors, many areas battle sewerage woes for months.

In July this year alone, as many as 50-60 complaints were being received daily by the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation regarding sewerage blockage or overflow. This coincided with an increased reportage of water contamination from various areas.

The key areas where diarrhoea/viral outbreaks or contaminated water supply was reported included Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, Babu Labh Singh Nagar, Baba Kahan Das Nagar, Rattan Nagar, Bhargo Camp, Raseela Nagar, Mittha Bazar, Kabir Vihar, New Gautam Nagar and Mata Sant Kaur Nagar, among others.

Barring this, there are several areas where garbage dumps also contaminate water.

Yogesh, a resident of Jalandhar Vihar, an area near the Wariana dump, said, “The water in the area is very contaminated. We have to change filters every fortnight. Without filter, we would get absolutely dirty water. We have filters even in bathrooms. We do not drink even filtered water from direct supply.”

Officials said all pollution was primarily in tap water and none at source (tube-well).

Requesting anonymity, a senior official said, “The older sewerage pipelines of the city are a headache as they leach or leak and sewerage water mixes with them. This gets worse during the monsoon and as temperature dips, the water gets better. Many people have connections through manholes which — when pipes develop cracks or leak, mostly in summers —- mix with acidic sewer waters and cause contamination.”

Former Jalandhar Mayor Jagdish Raja said, “The depleting groundwater level and misuse of water are both problems. Additionally, mixing of sewerage in summers is a big crisis every year. Enforcement and prevention of illegal connections is key to fighting this menace. Sewerage pipelines also need to be changed, these are very old and if dug up, may involve complete revamp of the area. Being proactive on the part of residents can also go a long way in solving the problem.”