Contaminated water in Punjab’s Malwa canals; Abohar residents getting drinking water on alternate days
In Abohar under Fazilka district, the municipal corporation has set up five new tube wells near the canal area to ensure the supply of potable water.
MLA Sandeep Jakhar supervises a bore work in Abohar. (Express photo)
More than a month after the issue was first flagged, contaminated water continued to flow through canals in the Malwa districts of Punjab – Fazilka, Faridkot, and Muktsar – on Monday.
In Abohar under Fazilka district, the municipal corporation has set up five new tube wells near the canal area to ensure the supply of potable water. Drinking water is being provided to residents on alternate days. In Muktsar, too, residents are facing severe water scarcity, with most relying on private borewells in homes or common areas to fetch water for domestic use.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar said, “The state of affairs is dismal. We in Abohar had to bore five additional tube wells because the canal water has not been potable for the past month. Such high contamination levels for such a long period have never occurred before. The government is fast asleep. Since our Abohar and Balluana areas are completely dependent on canal water for drinking and farming, alarm bells should have been ringing in the irrigation department, but alas…”
“Even in many parts of Muktsar, contaminated water is being supplied through taps by the Water Works Department… along with the canals. The department stores canal water and then supplies it for drinking purposes,” said Kanwarjit Rozy Bakrandi, former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA from Muktsar constituency.
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