The enormity of the Railway’s failure to supply safe drinking water

In the hearing, the High Court has ordered that if Railway Board again fails to submit action plan before the next hearing on 01.11.18 it will fix responsibility on officers who have caused the delay in improving the quality of water.

Read this to know the reality behind tall claims by the industry about domestic water purifiers and bottled water.

Clearly, the nation has not been given a true picture of the human cost of the Railway’s failure to supply safe and wholesome drinking water through its water supply system at the stations and colonies.

New Delhi : In the hearing held last Tuesday (9.10.18), the HC has ordered that as abundant indulgence one more opportunity is being given, but if Railway Board again fails to submit action plan before the next hearing on 01.11.18 it will fix responsibility on officers who have caused the delay in improving the quality of water.

The background to this ultimatum  from the High Court is that thrice Railway Board failed to comply with the court’s earlier orders to submit a proper time bound action plan to improve the quality of water. These order were passed on 27.7.16, then on 8.5.17, and again on 27.11.17. In fact, in its order on 27.11.17 Court directed that the Chairman Railway Board, who is the highest functionary in the Ministry of Railway, shall satisfy himself about the action plan before it is submitted to the court.

The consequences of the systemic failures in water supply are undoubtedly grave. For the past many years, the railway passengers and the residents of the railway colonies were kept unaware of the high magnitude of risk that the railways water supply posed to their health. At many places the incidence of supply of contaminated water was 100% month after month.

About half the total number of Railway water supplies still do not have a chlorination plant with the result that a large proportion of the water being supplied has high probability of presence of the pathogens that are responsible for deadly waterborne diseases like cholera, typhoid, viral hepatitis and diarrhoea.

Those passengers who can afford are purchasing bottled water at the stations. In desperation, many households in the Railway colonies have bought domestic water treatment plants based on the reverse-osmosis technology, even though such water treatment plants are not reliable for providing water free from harmful bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. Faced with constant complaints about the quality of the tap water at the stations, Railway has installed costly water vending machines at some premier stations which can cater to the needs of only a small proportion of the total passengers at these stations. Often, the passengers have to pay for this largess.

Several reports have pointed out that in the country the incidence of cholera is on the rise with the burden of about five million cases and more than 1,00,000 deaths annually. The main cause of this horrible disease is known to be the supply of contaminated drinking water. These reports have pointed out that the actual incidence of this deadly disease may be much higher because of the   various inadequacies of the disease surveillance. The total number of people annually afflicted by the waterborne diseases like cholera, typhoid, viral hepatitis and diarrhoea in India is reported to be in tens of millions. Still, Indian Railway does not carry out any survey to assess the burden of the waterborne diseases in its colonies even though it has a full-fledged set up of hospitals and other medical services.

The High Court order says:

As a matter of last indulgence, we direct listing of the matter on November  01, 2018 on which date, the response should be filed by the respondents, failing which we would take coercive action against the officers, who are responsible for the default and delay.

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