Bihar State Pollution Control Board to test water samples

PATNA: Heavy rain and subsequent prolonged waterlogging in many areas of the city is feared to have increased the load of biological pollution, both in the surface and groundwater.


Taking the matter as of immense scientific and public concern, Bihar State Pollution Control Board ( BSPCB ) on Thursday decided to collect water samples from such areas and examine the same in specified labs to ascertain which groups of micro-organism, virus, bacteria, protozoan and fungi increased to the levels considered dangerous for human health.

Samples will also be collected from the unaffected localities for comparative study.

BSPCB chairman Dr A K Ghosh said four teams were constituted and sent to collect water samples from the ground and shallow aquifers from the localities which remained submerged for more than three days after the heavy rain which lashed the state capital two weeks back. Though rainwater has been cleared from many areas, some localities in the western Patna are still under water.

Admitting that the unprecedented prolonged waterlogging could have led to phenomenal increase in the biological pollutants, Ghosh said thousands of residents who used private tube wells and stored water in rooftop tanks are supposed to be getting highly contaminated water.

Leakage in the underground pipes is also feared to have provided easy access to micro-organisms and insect larvae to the supply water.

Since the waterlogging didn’t allow lifting of domestic and municipal garbage for days in thickly populated colonies like Rajendra Nagar, Pataliputra, Boring Road, Kankerbagh and western areas like Gola Road, Bank Colony, Kaliket Nagar and Sunder Nagar, it could have led to heavy decomposition of food residues and degradable items in the residential areas, thus adding to the pollution woes. Dumping of biomedical wastes in flooded streets is also not less concerning.

Ghosh said the water samples, including that from the shallow aquifers, would be examined in the labs of BSPCB, A N college and Mahavir Cancer Sansthan and the preliminary report is expected in a week. “The report will help the policymakers to decide the necessary measures required to face the challenges,” he said.

“The concentration of four categories of biological pollutants – viral, bacterial, protozoan and fungi – is supposed to have increased to abnormal levels. The count of total coliform and faecal bacteria responsible for many diseases like diarrhoea, lung infection and skin problems may have also increased,” he said.

With the holy festival of Chhath round the corner in which the devotees take dip in rivers, ponds and lakes, the contamination of groundwater warranted the attention of the state government.

Patna residents, who faced multiple problems due to the accumulation of water all around their houses, are now facing threat from bio pollutants.

The BSPCB chairman said the people of waterlogged areas should get their rooftop water tanks cleaned and use only boiled water for drinking and cooking.