Government to ensure potable water to everyone amid coronavirus pandemic, says Health Ministry

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has issued an advisory on the supply of safe drinking water amid coronavirus pandemic.

The advisory asks all Public Health Engineering Departments/ Boards/ Nigams of the State Governments need to ensure supply of potable water to vulnerable sections of the society. The vulnerable section includes people residing in relief camps, places of quarantine, hospitals, old age homes, poor strata of society and slums.

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The MoHFW has also suggested various measures for clean drinking water, which includes adding of bleaching powder, chlorine tablets, potash alum, Sodium hypochlorite solution to purify water. These chemicals are listed under essential goods.

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In order to fetch water from a commonplace, the government suggested maintaining social distancing.

To ensure water safety in rural areas, the government will provide water testing kits to keep a check on the water quality round the clock. "Sufficient field test kits may be made available to the villagers trained in their use and they may be advised to do periodic testing of water supplied and alert all concerned in the event of any contamination," said the advisory.

The government has issued the advisory amid the virus crisis that has affected more than 11,000 people across India, causing deaths of over 390 people.