Jammu and Kashmir approaches centre for Rupees 150 crore for replacement of old machinery

Srinagar, Nov 4 : Jammu and Kashmir government has approached the centre for funds for the replacement of old machinery in the filtration plants in the state.

Meanwhile, the Public Health Engineering (PHE) has decided to alott a small filtration plant to every school in the state so that students can drink clean water.

It is true that most of the machinery in filtration plants are not functioning properly as a result water supply from these plants gets affected, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control Taj Mohiuddin said.

He said the machinery efficiency in filtration plants has come down to 60 per cent only and most of the machinery is outdated.

However, he said, the government has already taken up the matter with the centre as the state government would not be in a position to replace the entire machinery from its own resources.

Mr Taj said it may cost between Rs 100 crore to Rs 150 crore. We have approached the centre for funds, he said and expressed the hope that funds would be sanctioned.

He said old machinery, which is responsible for slow filtration, could be one of the reason for water shortage. But, he added when there is no water in the source which feeds these plants, machinery cannot do anything.

He said this issue was discussed in length at the meeting with the 13th Financial Commission.

The minister said there were complaints about water shortage in educational institutions, particuarly in schools.

''It has been decided to provide water connection in every school besides a small filtration plant so that students could get clean water,'' he said.

The filtration plant would be kept in the room of head of that school (head master) from where the water will be supplied to students, Mr Taj said adding this process will take another four to five months.

He admitted the department has no trained staff to operate the filtration plants. We are going to train the staff, he said.

--UNI

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