Union minister inspects water filtration plant

Guntur: Union Minister of State for Rural Development and Communications, Dr Pemmasani Chandrasekhar along with Guntur district Collector A Thameem Ansariya conducted a surprise inspection on Friday at Takkellapadu Water Filtration Plant and the water tanks at Stambalagaruvu in Guntur. He enquired about the water purification process and reviewed records related to the treatment system. He inspected the treatment beds and examined the functioning of the machinery.

Later, he climbed to the top of Stambalagaruvu water tank along with officials to inspect it. He noticed issues such as the absence of a cover on the old water tank and sought an explanation from the officials. He along with the collector conducted a review meeting at the Collectorate on public health. He said around 11 lakh people live in and around Guntur and heavy rains have triggered diarrheal problems. He said diarrhoea can occur due to multiple reasons. He said drinking water is supplied to Guntur parliament residents through both the Guntur channel and pipelines. He felt that contamination can occur either due to drainage leakage in pipelines or pollution through the Guntur channel. He said out of 167 samples collected from the city, 21 were found contaminated. He said reservoir modernisation works will be taken up at a cost of Rs 15 crore and stressed on the need to set up CCTV cameras at reservoirs to monitor workers and operations. He said officials have reported problems near some pani puri stalls.

Mayor Kovelamudi Ravindra, joint collector Ashutosh Srivastava, GMC commissioner Puli Srinivasulu accompanied him.