Palemar should not Damage image of City by spreading Rumours of Coliform in Drinking Water – Lobo
Mangaluru: “The allegations by the former district minister in-charge Krishna J Palemar on drinking water supplied to the people in the city by the MCC is not fit for consumption, is baseless. He should not spread false rumours and create fear in the minds of the citizens of Mangaluru. He is a responsible people’s representative, he should not damage the image of Mangaluru. The allegations which he has made on MCC regarding the drinking water will damage the reputation of our city and people will hesitate to come to Mangaluru. Before giving such statements to the press, he should have consulted with the council members, discussed the issue and clarified it. We need people to come to Mangaluru from other states and districts, spreading rumours to damage the image of the city is wrong. Giving such negative statements through the media will surely create fear in the minds of the people, which Palemar should have known being a responsible person”, said MLA J R Lobo in a press meet held at the Mayor’s chamber here on January 13.
Addressing the mediapersons Lobo said, “The former minister Krishna J Palemar is claiming that he had collected water samples from various places like Suratkal, Krishnapura, Bondel, Maryhill, Chilimbi, Katipalla etc and sent it to the laboratory for testing. During the sample testing at the Mangaluru Biotech Lab, it was found that the water was contaminated with fecal coliforms. We purify the water before supplying it for drinking. When we tested the water samples at the Department of fisheries Microbiology college of fisheries and District Surveillance Unit we did not found coliform in 98% of the samples. In the localised water, if they have found coliform, there might be Vaccum created in the pipes which sucks mud or outside water and there might be chances of coliform being found. Sometimes people keep the lid of overhead tanks open and there are chances of contamination. The MCC has taken all measures to provide clean drinking water. Where there is localised contamination in the water we will take action if brought to our knowledge. MCC is committed to providing pure drinking water to the people of Mangluru.
Mayor Harinath further said, “Former minister Palemar, has given a press statement regarding the drinking water and he has sent us the same press note. We have immediately acted on it and sent the water samples from 28 places for testing at two different places. We have already received the report. 18 MGD of water from two dams is being supplied only after purifying it to the population. Palemar has alleged that the Water samples collected from various places such as Suratkal, Krishnapura, Bondel, Maryhill, Chilimbi and Katipalla were sent to the laboratory for testing. During the sample testing at the Mangaluru Biotech Lab, it was found that the water is contaminated with fecal coliforms. But such type of contamination as alleged will lead to vomiting and other health issues. Palemar should not spread false rumours and create fear in the minds of people. In Suratkal government hospital, they use well water and MCC is not providing water. At some places, there is a possibility for the drainage to collapse and contaminate the well water in the area. We have tested the water and have received the report of 21 places with no contamination of coliform found. Spreading false rumours to damage the image of the city is not a right thing to do for a people’s representative.”
MLA Moideen Bava, Sashidhar Hegde, Lancelot Pinto, MCC Commissioner Mohammed Nazir, Kavitha Sanil and others were also present.
cong I corrupt politicians should stop **** …….. into the water supply. That itself will reduce the contamination. If the lab results are questionable, repeat the tests.