Tap Water Unfit for Drinking in Capitals Except Mumbai: Govt Data

India is third on the list, with 82.4 percent of the tap water contaminated.

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A recent study on the quality of tap water in 21 Indian capital cities have found that tap water available in most of those cities cannot be consumed. Among the 21 state capitals, only piped water samples taken from Mumbai passed the quality standards set for tap water, as per the study.

The report on the quality of piped drinking water in the country was released on Saturday by Ram Vilas Paswan, the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.

In the first two phases, samples from 21 cities across the country were taken for the study to check if the quality of water in taps were in line with the national standards set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The study was done keeping up with the objectives of Jal Jeevan Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the minister said.

As per the study, the only city which had samples adhering to the quality standards was Mumbai. The ministry had taken 10 samples from Mumbai. The other cities from where water samples were obtained for the study include Chandigarh, Thiruvananthapuram, Patna, Bhopal, Guwahati, Bengaluru, Gandhi Nagar, Lucknow, Jammu, Jaipur, Dehradun, Chennai and Kolkata.

“Samples were taken from 11 places in Delhi. All the samples have failed, But all samples of Mumbai are clear. Tap water of Mumbai is drinkable,” said the Minister. He also added that he has written to state governments asking them to clarify what help his government can provide to make tap water drinkable.

According to BIS norms, water quality test checks water under 48 parameters including the presence of radioactive substances. However, in the current study, radioactive substance test was excluded. Also free residual chlorine has been excluded from this exercise since it is applicable only when water is chlorinated and a minimum limit has been prescribed for it, the ministry said.

The samples were subjected to Organoleptic and Physical Tests, chemical test, toxic substances and bacteriological tests in the first stage.

"Test reports have been received for these tests for all the samples drawn. A vast majority of the samples have failed to comply with the requirements of Indian Standard in one or more parameters," the ministry said in a statement.

In the cities of Hyderabad, Bhubaneshwar, Ranchi, Raipur, Amravati and Shimla, one or more samples did not comply with the requirements of the Indian Standard.

"In the third phase, samples from capital cities of northeastern States and Smart Cities identified by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs have been drawn and are under tests. The results of these are expected by 15 January 2020,” the ministry said.

In the fourth phase, it is proposed to test samples drawn from all the district headquarters of the country and their testing is planned to be completed by 15 August 2020.

(This story was first published on The News Minute)