Tripura: Water supply has resumed since last night

Agartala, Feb 26: Drinking water supply has resumed in the citysince last night, after three days of suspension owing to pollution inthe Howrah river.

People had, earlier, fallen ill and at least 10 had been admittedto the hospital after drinking the polluted water from the Howrahriver. The river water was, reportedly, polluted by chemicals disposedfrom a paint factory in Kashipur. The owner of the factory was arrestedand held in police custody for two weeks.

The water was sent to Kolkata to test for poisonous substances, ifany. The test report, released last night, said that the water is nowfit for consumption.

The river water was sent to South Raipur water treatment plantWest Bengal, approved by the UNESCO, for testing on February 24morning. Last night, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar held talks with WestBengal Public Health Minister Gautam Deb in this connection and hadrequested him to send the report as early as possible.

Tripura Public Health Engineering, Environment, Science andTechnology Minister Badal Chowdhury said there is no such unit in thestate. He, however, assured that such centres would be set up soon. Twomain water treatment plants were shut down and water supply suspendedsince Friday, and all tanks were cleaned as a precautionery measure.

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