SCB denizens flag concern over contaminated water

Secunderabad: The lack of a quality assurance and testing (QA&T) wing to check water quality in Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB)has become a serious concern in Cantonment limits, leading to contaminated drinking water and numerous waterborne diseases in the area.

Locals in many areas allege that they are receiving polluted water, and if they want to register a complaint, it is often neglected due to the lack of QA&T facilities.

Most of the complaints in the SCB area come from slums in Rasoolpura, Picket, and Karkhana areas. Erratic water supply, polluted water, and unscheduled supply timings are among the key reasons forcing people to procure mineral water cans, according to the locals.

Despite many complaints lodged with SCB, no permanent solution has been taken to resolve this issue due to the lack of QA&T wing. After Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) supplies water in the pump houses of the SCB, no water quality checks are done.

It would be better if the SCB water wing gets merged into HMWS&SB or hire outsourcing staff to check water quality and provide pure and safe drinking water to the locals, said a member of Cantonment Vikas Manch.

"For a long time, we have been urging the SCB wing to set up a separate wing for the quality check of the water, but nothing has been implemented.

For the past several months, we have been receiving poor quality water, sometimes blackish in color, and there is a strange smell emanating from it" said a local of SCB.

While HMWSSB has its own QA&T wing to check water quality, it's surprising that SCB does not have any wing.

Many waterborne diseases are being reported in our area, and for several months we have been receiving contaminated water that is neither potable nor can be used for domestic purposes. Due to this, we are forced to buy water cans. It seems that SCB officials are not bothered about the locals' health. We are tired of complaining to the concerned officials regarding this perennial issue, and they only say that it is not contaminated water, only muddy water, said Suresh, a resident of Rasoolpura.