Taking serious note of the instances of worms being found in tap water at Khar, the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has issued a notice to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on this matter. In September, residents of more than five buildings on Chitrakar Dhurandhar Marg, Khar (west), had complained of receiving polluted water containing worms and insects. The SHRC, in its notice, has rapped the BMC for the supply of contaminated water to its citizens. It has also asked the civic body to explain what measures it is taking to avoid such instances, and to ensure that people get clean drinking water. Ramesh Bamble, chief hydraulic engineer, admitted that the civic body has received a notice from the Human Rights Commission on this matter. He said, “The commission has asked us to inform what measures the BMC is going to take to prevent the contamination of water. We will submit the reply soon.” According to the civic officials, the BMC has asked the SHRC to grant time till October 10 to file its reply. The Khar residents alleged that the civic officials initially did not heed their complaints, due to which the problem aggravated. “The tap water smelled foul at several times in the past three months, but then we started receiving contaminated water supply,” they said. Following their complaints, the BMC had collected water samples from the area and sent to the municipal lab at the G North ward (Dadar) office for inspection. In the tests, some of the samples were found to be contaminated. Civic officials said that the BMC has plugged the source of leak and also advised the citizens to ensure that their water tanks are clean to help prevent contamination.
