West Bengal: 467 FIRs Filed for Misuse of Drinking Water
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Kolkata, Dec 4 (NationPress) The West Bengal government has initiated a rigorous response to the misuse of drinking water distributed by the state public health engineering (PHE) Department, as stated by PHE Minister Pulak Roy in the Assembly on Wednesday.
“In response to approximately 20,000 complaints received by the department, we have filed 467 FIRs in recent days. Two dedicated phone lines have been established for the public to report such issues. We are addressing each complaint with utmost seriousness,” remarked Roy.
He also provided a breakdown of the 467 FIRs filed in this regard.
According to the statistics shared by the minister, the highest number of FIRs were lodged in Nadia with 83 cases, followed by East Midnapore with 66, North 24 Parganas with 46, and Murshidabad with 34.
The two districts in north Bengal, Jalpaiguri and Darjeeling, reported the least number of FIRs, with just two each. The state government aims to ensure drinking water access to every household in West Bengal by the end of 2025.
Sources indicate that connectivity for over 1.77 crore homes is still pending, and efforts have commenced on an emergency basis to expedite the process.
Earlier this week, the PHE Minister came under fire from Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding irregularities in implementing this connectivity.
There have also been reports of pipelines installed by the state government being damaged. The Chief Minister accused the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) of failing to supply sufficient water for domestic purposes.
“The DVC only releases water in times of flood, but they are hesitant to provide water for drinking,” stated the Chief Minister.
