Muktsar, April 23: Amid mounting complaints over discolored and foul-smelling water in the Sirhind Feeder canal, officials have suspended its use for public supply in Punjab’s Malout town. The Water Supply and Sewerage Board has shifted to underground water, triggering a restricted supply schedule.
“We’ve begun supplying underground water after treatment and will continue this approach until the canal water clears up,” a Board engineer told The Himalayan Post. He acknowledged that despite routine treatment, the canal water’s murky appearance and odor persisted.
As part of the new arrangement, residents in Malout will now receive water on alternate days.
Elsewhere in the region, the supply situation remained stable in Gidderbaha and Mandi Bariwala, where alternative water sources are available, the engineer added.
In Muktsar town, the Water Supply and Sanitation Department confirmed it had refrained from storing brackish canal water in local reservoirs.
“Instead, we are drawing underground water from tubewells to meet daily demand,” said Shaminder Singh, Executive Engineer of the department.
However, despite these measures, some residents continued to report severely contaminated water.
“People in my ward are receiving completely black water—like sewage,” said Tejinder Singh Jimmy Brar, municipal councillor of ward 8 and a resident of Khalsa School Road in Muktsar. “This can easily lead to a major outbreak of water-borne diseases.”
In response, department officials said they were working on resolving the contamination.
The ongoing crisis follows recent protests by farmers over the declining quality of water in the Sirhind Feeder canal.
