Hazaribag: A month-long drinking water quality testing campaign across all 16 blocks of Hazaribag district has found all 15,529 samples collected from different sources to be within prescribed safety limits, officials said on Wednesday.The exercise was conducted by the drinking water and sanitation department on the directions of deputy commissioner Hemant Sati to assess drinking water sources and help prevent water-borne diseases.Officials said 494 jal sahiyas collected samples from villages and habitations between May 23 and June 23 using field test kits (FTKs). The samples were tested for parameters such as pH, turbidity, total hardness, chloride, alkalinity, residual chlorine, iron, nitrate, fluoride, ammonia, phosphate and sulphate.As per the report, the average pH level was 6.95, turbidity 2.1 NTU, total hardness 211 mg/l, chloride 20 mg/l, iron 0.23 mg/l, nitrate 5 mg/l and fluoride 0.17 mg/l. Officials said the results were within permissible limits and no contamination was detected in any sample.Deputy development commissioner Riya Singh, who monitored the campaign under the DC’s instructions, said samples were collected from schools, anganwadi centres and households. “Jal sahiyas were provided testing kits and trained to carry out the exercise effectively,” she told TOI.Former head of Vinoba Bhave University’s geology department Vipin Kumar welcomed the initiative, saying regular assessments were crucial as soil pollution was increasingly affecting groundwater quality.“This campaign was the need of the hour. If any serious contamination was detected, the administration could have taken timely measures and alerted residents,” he said.Sati said the administration was committed to ensuring safe and clean drinking water for every resident. He added that regular monitoring and periodic testing of water sources would continue, with corrective measures taken wherever required.
A jal sahiya tests water samples using a field test kit
Hazaribag DC Hemant Sati and deputy development commissioner Riya Singh