KOLKATA: Three days have passed since a Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) laboratory conclusively proved presence of arsenic at three places on Anwar Shah Road and Ghulam Mohammed Shah Road, but the civic body is yet to take any action to provide safe drinking water to the residents of these areas.

A separate report by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) has also been published and the findings corroborated by the State Water Investigation Directorate (SWID), but it was only on Monday that Vishal Rai - a resident of Ghulam Mohammed Shah Road next to Ashalata Apartment - got to know of the menace.

Alarmed that the deep tubewell water he is used to drinking spews arsenic, the student of Maulana Azad College said, "Now I will have to buy water as ground water is no longer safe in this locality."

Earlier, a KMC water supply team had visited went to some of the areas in Anwar Shah and Ghulam Mohammed Shah Road and sealed three tubewells where traces of arsenic were found beyond permissible limit by the civic body.

Vishal Rai, a resident of Ghulam Mohammed Shah Road next to Ashalata apartment had no idea that high traces of arsenic have been found from deep tubewell of the apartment. Rai, a student of Maulana Azad College now feels extremely worried over such finding. "Now I will have to buy water. Ground water is no longer safe in this locality," Rai said on Monday. Three days have passed since a Kolkata Municipal Corporation laboratory conclusively proved presence of arsenic at three places in Anwar Shah Road and Ghulam Mohammed Shah Road including Ashalata Apartment along with a separate report from West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), no action has been taken by the civic body to provide safe drinking water to residents of these areas. A KMC water supply team went to some of the areas in Anwar Shah and Ghulam Mohammed Shah Road and sealed three tubewells where traces of arsenic were found beyond permissible limit by the civic body and a separate report of State Water Investigation Directorate (SWID) also corroborated the civic finding.

However, residents of Inmates of Ashalata apartment have hardly any other option, left but to drink the contaminated water since the potable water supply to these areas from Garden Reach is grossly insufficient. This is the reason why the people of the apartment are opposed to sealing of tubewells in the area connection.

"We may have to continue drinking this water since the only other option left is to buy drinking water re are no options left for us other than buying water. Though we have a parallel surface water connection, we hardly get water," said S C Mukherjee, a retired central government employee and a resident of the apartment. Another resident Bandana Auddy , another inmate of the apartment made it clear that unless the civic body supplies additional surface water from Garden Reach, they could do nothing but would have to depend on the tubewell water.

"We are yet to decide how to react to the what to do with this findings (traces of arsenic). The civic authorities must enhance its water supply before they plan to seal the tubewellswant us to close down the tubewell," she said. Tarak Singh, the member, mayor-in-council overseeing the KMC ground water, said a notice has been sent to the secretary of Ashalata Apartment to immediately seal asking him to close down the tubewell.

The residents of the apartment Inmates of Ashalata Apartment are not the only ones who were completely unaware of the fact and have been landed in trouble after the civic body confirmed presence of arsenic in the ground water in large stretches of the area.

Take the case of Sandip Mishra, a youth who stays on Ghulam Mohammed Shah Road. It was only after a KMC water supply team came to seal a roadside tubewell near Padatik club on Monday that Mishra got to know about the arsenic contamination of ground water in the area. "Now that the corporation has sealed the tubewell, it will be an uphill task for us to fetch drinking water," Mishra said.

Apart from sealing down deep tubewells which was sunk just two months ago, the KMC team also sealed a hand tubewell in the area near Shantiniketan housing apartment. Similarly, the KMC team has sealed another tubewell at Biswaspara off Lake Gardens flyover.

Rani Begum, a local resident, among others was waiting near a roadside tap on Monday afternoon to fetch water when the KMC team sealed the tubewell. "I have no idea why the only tubewell in our locality has been sealed. If there is contamination in the ground water, the KMC must arrange for alternative water supply," Begum said.