Irrigation and Public Health Minister of Himachal Pardesh Smt. Vidya Stokes said that State Government was concerned over the cases of jaundice in the Shimla town and all possible preventive measures were being taken to check the further spread of the disease. She was presiding over a meeting of Irrigation and Public Health and Urban Development Departments and Shimla Municipal Corporation officials at Shimla.Smt. Stokes said that IPH, Health Department and Shimla Municipal Corporation had been directed to take necessary action in this regard particularly in the area where water was being supplied from Ashwani Khad. Moreover, they had also been asked to device short term and long term measures to check the water quality at user end as well as effluent quality of Malyana Treatment Plant.
She directed the IPH Department to ensure proper functioning of the Malyana Sewerage Treatment Plant and Ashwani Khad water supply scheme. She directed to close local polluted sources in the vicinity of Shimla town and Shimla MC would provide alternate water supply. MC would also undertake drive to connect all houses falling in the catchment with sewerage system besides closing the water connections to those houses not having sewer connections. A decision was also taken to constitute two teams comprising of IPH, MC and Health officials for collecting random samples from Malyana sewerage plant and Ashwani khad.
I&PH Minister said that MC should implement the missing links sewerage project in Ashwani khad catchment area under Jawaharlal Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission on priority. She also asked the Corporation to ensure scientific disposal of the debris of construction works so that the water supply and sewerage lines were not damaged besides enforcing Water Harvesting systems in new buildings.
She expressed concern on the septic tank effluent during rains to the local nallahs particularly in the catchment area of Ashwani Khad. She directed the MC to identify such areas and connect them to sewerage system.
Shri Tikender Panwar, Deputy Mayor, MC, Shimla apprised that the effluent of Sewerage Treatment Plant was not of the required quality and could be the possible reason for spreading jaundice as the effluent reaches the intake WSS Ashwani khad.Shri R.K. Sharma, Engineer-in-Chief, I&PH, other senior officers of Irrigation and Public Health, Urban Development and MC, Shimla were also present in the meeting.