SHILLONG, Dec 27: The UDP has asked the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department to provide a clear response to the National Green Tribunal’s notice to the state government that the drinking water supplied to the residents in Shillong contains arsenic and fluoride.
The UDP stressed that the issue should not be overlooked as it pertains to human health and has surfaced for the second time.
“I think what NGT has reported is authentic. Imagine what has happened to the health of people who drank this water all these years,” UDP general secretary Jemino Mawthoh said expressing deep concern over the matter.
He asked the government and the PHE department to take the matter seriously, stating that the public needs to know how safe the quality of water in different parts of the city and other places is.
The UDP leader stressed on testing the water on a regular basis.
He also said those assigned to do the job have to be proactive.
He reminded the government that the FKJGP had brought the matter to the fore in the past.
“You cannot just brush this under the carpet. The first time the FKJGP did it. Now, the NGT has given the report which is alarming,” Mawthoh said.
“The department has to pull up its socks. We cannot be drinking poison. Prolonged drinking (of such water) will have detrimental effect on human health,” he cautioned.
