31 Out Of 42 Gas-Hit Colonies Get Contaminated Water

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Thirty-one out of 42 notified Bhopal Gas tragedy-affected colonies are facing water contamination due to poor drainage, sewage issues and low-pressure pipe water supply.

In these circumstances, residents have no option but to use groundwater—which is officially banned in these colonies, according to Bhopal gas tragedy survivors.

Teams from the Supreme Court (SC)’s monitoring committee are currently inspecting these colonies and collecting water samples. However, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) claims that it supplies pure piped water to all 42 gas-affected colonies near the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) plant.

Survivors, in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, have stated that broken pipelines and leakages are common in several colonies such as Bluemoon Colony, PhutaMakbara, Risaldar Colony, Shiv Nagar, Gareeb Nagar, Ayub Nagar and Arif Nagar, leading to dirty water flowing from taps.

Residents are being forced to consume contaminated water seeping from drains, severely impacting their health. In PhutaMakbara, about 150 houses reportedly lack proper water connection, while in Shiv Nagar around 20 houses, and in Ayub Nagar around 40 houses, either lack water connections or suffer from extremely low water pressure.

Rachna Dhingra of Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA) said, “There must be proper sewage and drainage systems in all the 42 notified colonies, otherwise sewage will continue contaminating the piped water supply. Secondly, even after piped supply, residents are not getting water with sufficient pressure, forcing them to use borewell water, which is banned for drinking purposes.”

Purnendu Shukla, a member of the Supreme Court monitoring committee, said, “The committee team is mainly checking whether residents are using borewells, especially those living near Solar Evaporation Ponds (SEPs). Team members are also checking the sources of water in the 42 notified colonies.”

BMC superintending engineer (water supply) Udit Garg said, “The BMC administration has ensured piped water supply in all 42 colonies of gas victims as directed by the Supreme Court. We have complied.”

MP Pollution Control Board official Brijesh Sharma said, “The use of borewells and tubewells for drinking is banned. The BMC has established piped water supply, but the SC team’s main concern is over the use of groundwater and verifying water sources. Regular inspections are conducted by the SC monitoring team.”