The Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) is facing a severe problem due to the absence of a quality assurance and testing (QA&T) wing to check water quality. The lack of this facility has led to contaminated drinking water and numerous waterborne diseases in the area. The locals in many areas of SCB complain that they are receiving polluted water, and their complaints are 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. The locals cite erratic water supply, polluted water, and unscheduled supply timings as the primary reasons forcing them to procure mineral water cans. 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.
A member of Cantonment Vikas Manch suggests that 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. The locals have been urging the SCB wing to set up a separate wing for the quality check of the water, but nothing has been implemented. They have been receiving poor quality water for several months, sometimes blackish in color, and there is a strange smell emanating from it.
While HMWSSB has its own QA&T wing to check water quality, it is surprising that SCB does not have any wing. Many waterborne diseases are being reported in the area, and for several months, the locals have been receiving contaminated water that is neither potable nor can be used for domestic purposes. Due to this, they are forced to buy water cans. The SCB officials seem not bothered about the locals’ health, and the residents are tired of complaining to the concerned officials regarding this perennial issue. They only say that it is not contaminated water, only muddy water.
In conclusion, the lack of a QA&T wing in SCB has become a serious concern for the residents of the Cantonment limits. It is high time that the SCB officials take this issue seriously and set up a separate wing for the quality check of the water or merge their water wing into HMWS&SB. The locals deserve pure and safe drinking water, and it is the responsibility of the authorities to ensure that they receive it.
