DJB chief says tap water is safe to drink (Times of india 8 April 2011)

NEW DELHI: A day after a study highlighted presence of a superbug in Delhi's water, Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said there was no need to panic. It said the superbug cannot exist in tap water due to the presence of chlorine.

DJB CEO Ramesh Negi said the tap water was "safe" for drinking. He, however, added the tests that Bureau of Indian Standards performs cannot detect NDM-1 (New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase-1).

Quoting Dr Mohd Shahid from department of medical microbiology, Aligarh Muslim University, Negi said: "NDM-I gene has just got into the environment but is yet to be established itself in tap water because the isolates from the tap water do not have stable plasmids."

A report in research journal claims that gram-negative bacterial strains with NDM-1 gene, also called superbug, have been detected in water samples collected from puddles, rivulets and taps in New Delhi. Bacteria that carry the antibiotic resistant gene were found in two of the 50 drinking water samples and 51 of 171 seepage water samples. The two positive water samples were lifted from Ramesh Nagar and area near Red Fort. The NDM-1 positive seepage samples were collected from close to CP, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital and Gole Market.

"Cleanliness and personal hygiene are important measures to prevent the spread of NDM-1 gene. Fortunately, the gene cannot stabilize itself in tap water due to presence of chlorine so there is no cause of concern as far as drinking water is concerned. But water can be boiled as a precautionary measure," added Negi.

DJB claimed that its water conforms to the standards prescribed by Bureau of Indian Standards. "The BSI standard is 10 Coliform per 100ml of drinking water. National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, which has been carrying out an independent quality check of water from 2006 to 2010, has found the Coliform presence in drinking water within prescribed limit," said Negi.

"The new bug seems to be a mutation of Coliform. BIS tests detect only Coliform and do not handle gene mutation. Detecting mutation is in domain of health department and Centre," said Negi. Expressing his concern on the matter, health minister A K Walia has called a meeting.

Negi said that while DJB receives around 50 to 60 complaints of contaminated water everyday, they were now trying to take precautionary measures to avoid such situations. "We are mapping areas vulnerable to contamination. This basically includes 550 unauthorized colonies which have water supply but do not have a proper sewage system," said Negi.

DJB is also planning to take on the task of changing corroded service pipelines besides the main water pipelines to prevent leakages and contamination of water. "The process to change service pipelines will start in 15-20 days," said Negi. "We appeal to consumers not to use online boosters as this leads to corroding of pipelines."

On MCD raising questions over the quality of supply water, Negi said they have written two letters to the body inviting them for joint sampling and testing of water.