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POLLUTION

Gujarat's Sardar Sarovar Dam Water 'Unfit' for Consumption

By Tushar Tere | TNN

05 February, 2019

TWC India

Sardar Sarovar dam
(Pixabay)
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Water flowing out of Sardar Sarovar dam, considered to be Gujarat’s lifeline, is unfit for consumption.

Gujarat Water Supply and Sewage Board (GWSSB) officials, who had taken water samples from the dam and the main canal, concluded that the quantity of sulphide is very high in the water discharged from the Narmada dam. GWSSB had stopped drinking water supply from the canal in Narmada, Chhota Udepur and parts of Vadodara.

“After receiving complaints, we took samples of water from the dam and the main canal around four days ago. The tests showed no presence of any chemical. But the samples failed bacteriological tests and therefore it cannot be consumed directly. The water has to be purified first,” said Ritunjay Jha, deputy executive engineer, GWSSB, Rajpipla. The board then sent the water for detailed tests to Gujarat Environment Management Institute (GEMI) laboratory in Gandhinagar.

GWSSB officials said that they had taken water sample from main canal and Wadia branch canal and amount of sulphide found in the water is high. “The sulphide quantity may be high due to either the death of fish or waste discharge from some company. There is also possibility of sewage water being released in the waters in more quantity,” an official said.

Large number of dead fish were found in Narmada Dam last week following which an inquiry was initiated by Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL). “There is a tank near the dam from where water is released from the canal. On Sunday, when the water from the canal was released in this tank, all the fish in it died within an hour,” the official said, adding that the water looks black when in canal but when seen in beaker, it doesn’t.

Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) had said in its report that the fish died due to depleted oxygen levels in the water.

GWSSB chairman JP Gupta, however, said that the water supply was stopped for three days only, but it has resumed.

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Many dead fishes were found in dam last week

Large number of dead fishes were found in Narmada Dam last week following which an inquiry was initiated by Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL).

“There is a tank near the dam from where water is released from the canal. On Sunday, when the water from the canal was released in this tank, all the fish in it died within an hour,” the official said, adding that the water looks black when in canal but when seen in beaker, it doesn’t.

Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) had said in its report that the fish died due to depleted oxygen levels in the water.

GWSSB chairman J P Gupta said that the water from Narmada dam had bacteriological presence but it can be removed by treating the water. “We conducted several tests and it shows that the water can be consumed after treatment. The water supply was stopped for a while but it has been started again.”

When asked for reasons behind the dead fish, Gupta said that it may be due to temperature change.

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This news was originally published in The Times of India

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