Boko, Jan 20: Villagers in Boko and surrounding areas have raised serious concerns about the quality of water supplied by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Boko Sub-Division. The department supplies water to key establishments like the Electricity Office, PWD Inspection Bungalow (IB), and villages such as 1 No. Dakuapara, 2 No. Dakuapara, among others. However, residents allege that the water often arrives dirty and foul-smelling.
Residents from 1 No. Dakuapara expressed frustration over the issue, with one villager stating, “We are yet to receive clean drinking water from the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme. Instead, the PHED supplies us with water that smells like sewage. It feels like poison in the name of drinking water. We suspect this is contributing to the rising number of cancer cases in the Boko area, especially among women.”
A visit to the PHED Boko Sub-Division office revealed alarming conditions at the water supply projects. Both projects were found dirty, with visible cellulitis on the structures and foamy, contaminated water being discharged. Gautam Chandra Boro, a 4th-grade employee working on a recently initiated water supply project (2023-24), admitted that the water quality is poor and claimed he has reported the issue to his seniors multiple times. Another staff member, Dipu Rabha, confirmed that water is supplied to households and offices twice daily, from 8-9 AM and 2-3 PM.
The situation is further compounded by the lack of transparency in water quality testing. The Boko PHED office hosts a Sub-Divisional Level Laboratory (SDLL), but Assistant Chemist Hitesh Talukdar refused to provide water testing reports. Talukdar acknowledged that the water was last tested a year ago, but the report is unavailable. He cited the workload related to testing water at Anganwadi centres as the reason for neglecting household water testing.
Efforts to contact the Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of Boko PHED, Ameet Das, were unsuccessful. According to PHED staff, Das has been largely absent from the office, reportedly last attending work approximately 10 days after Biswakarma Puja on 17 September 2024.
The lack of accountability and poor water quality have left residents questioning the effectiveness of the PHED and calling for immediate intervention to address the pressing issue of safe drinking water.
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