The Free Press Journal published a story titled "Kharadi residents fall ill after receiving contaminated water from tanker vendor, file complaint" on December 28. In the story, Kharadi residents claimed they frequently fell ill due to the consumption of contaminated water supplied by a water tanker vendor to their society. They also filed a case against the vendor and demanded police action for providing contaminated water.
The residents also wrote a letter to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) highlighting the serious incident of endangering the lives of thousands of residents by supplying contaminated water. The residents in their letter demanded the implementation of audit and control measures on the usage of water from the identified STP plant.
Acting on the newspaper report, the Pune civic body has now mandated green-painted tankers for STP water with a clear label saying, "This is not drinking water; it is STP water."
Nandkishor Jagtap, Chief Engineer of PMC's Water Supply Department, said “It is already mandatory for tankers supplying water directly from STPs to be painted green. However, we have now issued clear directives for strict enforcement of this rule, ensuring that only green-painted tankers fill water from STPs. We are also in discussions with the drainage department to formalise this directive by passing an order regarding this.”
Meanwhile, the police have decided to file a case against the contractor involved in the Kharadi incident which has raised serious concerns about public health.
Rajendra Bhosale, PMC Commissioner, said, “We are investigating the complaints regarding the use of STP water in housing societies. Strict monitoring of water supply contractors has been implemented to prevent such incidents in the future.”
