Mysore/Mysuru: Officials in-charge of the concerned Local Bodies will be held responsible if people face health issues owing to supply of contaminated water, said Deputy Commissioner (DC) Dr. K.V. Rajendra here yesterday.

Chairing a meeting with taluk level officers through video conferencing at Zilla Panchayat (ZP) auditorium, the DC instructed the officials not to supply drinking water without conducting prior tests and the same has to be supplied only after getting a confirmation about their purity.

“Drinking water storage unit must be cleansed on regular basis and efforts should be made to take up chlorination works at every stage. The officials must also prevent the collection of stagnant water near the borewells apart from ensuring free flow of water in drains and construction of concrete structures surrounding water sources,” he added.

The Deputy Commissioner also told the officials to instruct the hotels and street vendors to maintain cleanliness and provide clean drinking water to customers. He also instructed the officials to work in co-ordination with various departments to prevent the spread of chikungunya and dengue diseases.

The officials were also asked to keep a vigil on water pipelines and to prevent drinking water getting mixed with polluted water. “On finding cases of people suffering from gastroenteritis, vomiting and diarrhoea in rural areas, the officials must rush immediately rush to such villages to ensure preventive measures were in place to prevent further spread of such cases. The officials must also report about such cases to the District Administration,” he added.

Dr. Rajendra also instructed the officials to conduct timely checks for quality of water stored in overhead tanks.

ZP CEO K.M. Gayathri, Hunsur Assistant Commissioner Mohammad Haris Sumair and other officials were present.