Dear Editor,
I could not believe I read (SN, June 2) that Minister Irfan Ali pronounced the Lamaha Canal water “safe” while “detailed investigation” is still being conducted. So I waited to see if a mistake would be admitted by either SN or the Minister.
WHO’s Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, set up in Geneva, 1993, are the international reference point for standard setting and drinking-water safety. A lot of tests have to be done to establish safety. None of the “several tests” was named for citizens, nor the extent of any effort made to find the cause upstream.
SN and Mr Sohan have done us a service. I hope the ministry and/or GWI say thanks, get busy, and keep us informed in detail as to what they have done. Some consumers have a low tolerance of pollution, which may trigger sickness not easily traceable to its cause in this country.
Our Minister of Water should perhaps get one of the abundant well-paid elder advisers from the OP to save him from making statements that cannot inspire confidence in the truth or quality of his investigations, and that only serve to alarm the public further.
Yours faithfully,
Alfred Bhulai
