PATNA: About 60 per cent of the households in Patna drink contaminated water. In the last two months, the Patna Water Board (PWB) collected 150 water samples from different parts of the city.
After testing, about 45 samples were found unfit for human consumption. These were found containing bacterial contamination, including e-coli.
Quite a few of these samples were from the Patna City and Gardanibagh areas. A senior official of the PWB told TOI, "In the past there was no system of routine checks to test the quality of drinking water in Patna. In fact, the board does not have any testing facility of its own."
He said, "Since early December we have started picking up water samples randomly from households and community taps. While the samples picked from the pumping stations were found free of any contamination, many of those from residential colonies were found unfit for human consumption."
The official reasoned the contamination usually took place in the water pipelines. "Since our entire network of water pipes is very old, there are many leakages and cracks in them," he said...
