MYSORE: Is the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) lying to the public over the quality of drinking water supplied to them?

The question assumes significance in view of a notice issued by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to the MCC for letting sewage into the Hebbal lake from where it is diverted to the Devaraya Canal, which is a major source of drinking water for Mysore.

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) such as the Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) and Dr. Ajay Memorial Drinking Water Foundation have furnished documents to substantiate their claims that water is being polluted and even the processed water is not fit for consumption.

But the MCC rejected these allegations and accused the NGOs of indulging in self-promotion.

The corporation had said that sewage was not getting into Devaraya Canal and that the sewage of Hebbal and surrounding areas was being pumped to Kesare sewage treatment plant.

Incensed by the corporation's response, the MGP and the foundation issued a statement here on Tuesday that the MCC was issuing false statements on the issue of water for the second time in three months.

Documents

They produced documents from the KSPCB which said that sewage was not being pumped to the Kesare treatment plant as claimed by the corporation since the pumps were not working.

This proved that the corporation was lying, according to the NGOs which pointed out that the sewage which flowed into the lake was being used by farmers who lead it to their agricultural tracts and the run offs from here joined the Devaraya Canal.

Questioning the corporation's claims that the water supplied was not contaminated, the NGOs wondered how the authorities could ignore the recent incident at Vijayanagar Water Reservoir where a portion of the reservoir's roof collapsed and tones of algae, pigeon carcasses and debris was found inside.

Laboratory

"MCC is supposed to have a water laboratory which has to continuously take water samples from all over the city and test it for purity and potability. If the laboratory cannot not find any problems with this severely contaminated water, it should be immediately closed down," according to Major General (retd.) Sudhir Vombatkere, president of the parishat.

Responding to the corporation's counter statement that if water supplied was indeed contaminated, then Mysore should had been hit by epidemics, the NGOs attributed the non-appearance of epidemics to relatively higher level of immunity that one acquires after prolonged exposure to contaminated water.

"But that does not mean that there is no danger, and people whose immunity level is low like the elderly persons or children and those recovering from illness are at a great risk," according to the NGOs which pointed out that death of two women at Ekalavyanagar recently was due to contamination of drinking water.

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