Contaminated water Karnataka’s shame

In 2010, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a historic resolution recognising “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights”. The Supreme Court of India has in various judgements held that the right to water is part of the right to life, and thus a fundamental right. The court has also stressed that the State is responsible for providing clean drinking water to citizens. However, access to clean and safe drinking water continues to remain a far cry for many in Karnataka, shaming all claims of the state as being developed and progressive. The recent incident in Chitradurga, where at least five people died and over 200 others took ill after consuming contaminated water supplied by the local municipality bears testimony to this.

Though the first death occurred on August 1, and people have continued to fall sick since, the authorities have still not been able to identify the cause of contamination with confidence. Naturally, people have become wary of consuming water supplied by the municipality for fear of falling ill or even losing their lives. Though about 80% of the town depends on water sourced from Shantisagar Lake in nearby Channagiri taluk, it is strange that only the people living in and around Kavadigarahatti, an area mainly inhabited by Dalits, has been affected. Initial suspicion of foul play was ruled out after a preliminary study by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) found no poisonous substance in the water. The report, however, revealed the presence of cholera bacteria in the sample, while stating that the water supplied between July 30 and August 1 was unfit for human consumption. In June last, five people had died in Raichur after drinking polluted water. It was later found that several wards in the city were receiving untreated water and that the filtration unit had not been cleaned or maintained for the past five years.

With such cases being reported regularly from across the state, including Bengaluru, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has ordered a third-party audit of water supply across the state. While this is welcome, what is more important is to take strong action against officers because of whose negligence many lives are lost. In the Chitradurga case, the Lokayukta has observed that water contamination is a clear result of maladministration. Instead of suspending lower-level officers, the government should file a criminal complaint against the municipal commissioner. Causing death by supplying contaminated water is nothing short of homicide, besides being an affront to human rights.