MYSORE: A team of microbiologists of the Water Committee formed by Dr. Ajay Memorial Drinking Water Foundation and the Mysore Grahakara Parishat met Deputy Commissioner S. Selva Kumar on Tuesday and presented to him a copy of the committee report on the condition of the Central Water Storage Reservoir at Vijayanagar here.

In its report, the committee has suggested that the authorities of Mysore City Corporation (MCC) replace the roof of the tank, which, it said had collapsed at various points, owing to release of chlorine gas.

It also asked them to some specialised builders in the construction of the roof.

In addition, the committee has also recommended rodent-proof and bird-proof air vents for the tank as dead birds were found floating in the tank last week.

After coming under severe criticism for the poor maintenance of the tank, the MCC launched cleaning of the tank on Monday.

The members, who met the Deputy Commissioner, said the workers involved in the cleaning of the tank were exposed to danger as the roof of the tank had become weak and chlorine gas was being released from the tank owing to large-scale use of bleaching powder.

There are several instances where workers had lost their lives owing to exposure to poisonous gases. "The authorities concerned must take steps to ensure safety of the workers," they added.

The committee members, in the report, explained the condition of the tank. The open tank, after removing the roof, could be used for supplying water after chlorination.

`Boil water'

As the cleaning process disturbs the bottom layer of the tank, experts of the Dr. Ajay Memorial Drinking Water Foundation here have urged the people to filter and boil the water supplied from the tank.

A. Ramalingam of the foundation, who was part of the team of microbiologists that inspected the tank, got the water samples tested. It was found that the quality of the water stored was poor.

Contaminated

Water from the bottom of the tank had the same type of plant and animal life found in a polluted tank. "The plants included floating green algae, plankton, blue green algae, vallisnaria, myriophyllum and myriads of microscopic plants. The animal life included spiral snails, conic snails, dragonfly larvae, maggots and fast swimming flagellates. The water samples also contained exoskeletons of dung beetles, nesting material, bird droppings, feathers and pigeon carcasses," Prof. Ramalingam said.

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