Most of the restaurants, canteens, street vendors and even different public and private offices are using jar water as ‘safe’ drinking mineral water. But a recent research had found that 97 percent of jar water are hazardously polluted. The poisonous jar water selling continues. People cry for stoppage of sale urgently.
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) which conducted the study, found one to more than 1,600 MPN (most probable number) of fecal coliform, a bacterium created from human excreta in a 100-millilitre sample of jar water. According to BSTI standards, it was supposed to be zero.
The research entitled’Qualitative Assessment of Bottled Drinking Water and Evaluation of Pesticides Residue at Raw, Washed and Cooked Vegetables’, had been released recently.
BARC collected the samples from Dhanmondi, New Market, Elephant Road, Farmgate, Mohammadpur, Karwan Bazar, Sadarghat, Jatrabari, Motijheel, Malibagh, Mohakhali, Chawkbazar, Mirpur, Uttara, Gulshan and other areas in the capital city. It also collected samples from districts, including Dhaka, Chittagong, Khulna, Barisal, Comilla, Rangpur, Pabna and Mymensingh.
“E. coli (one kinds of microbial of fecal coliform) was found in 97 percent of jar water as we collected 250 samples from 24 points of the capital city. The water is not safe. It is really seriously hazardous for human health. The water is full of
poison. The people should be aware of it,” BARC Director (nutrition) Dr. Md Monirul Islam, the Chief Researcher of the team told a group of journalists.
He said that the sample collected from Sadarghat was mostly polluted.
Dr. Md Monirul Islam said, “The human excreta are mixing with drinking water supplied by Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) due to pipe lines holes and other ways.”
“The traders are selling jar water in the most cases without filtering that. In such ways, the harmful E.coli is being taken by the people,” he said.
“It is sure there is presence of E.coli in WASA supplied water. That water can be purified only after boiling it,” he said.
Dr. Monirul Islam said, fecal coliform gives birth different kinds of bacteria and viruses which are liable for creating huge germs of diseases.
“Especially E. coli is the source of long term diarrhoea, headache, Vomiting, stomach ache, fever and many more. It also decays disease preventing capability of human body,” he said.
The chief researcher warned if the level of the infection is higher, then it may destroy the red blood cell and may seriously harm kidneys of under five years old children and above 60 years old persons.
He also said the syndrome of that infection may be seen within two to eight days.
Sources said, some traders are involved in supplying jar water to shops, restaurants, street vendors and different offices with BSTI logo. But they have no sufficient equipment or other proper facilities to purify water.
Most of them keep the water in jars after taking directly from taps in unhealthy way.
Dr. Monirul said some traders use BSTI logo without proper testing. The BSTI authority should take steps to prevent it.
