Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday said that city cleanliness should not be limited to waste management alone but must also include ensuring the safety of drinking water, in the wake of deaths reported in Indore due to alleged water contamination.
Speaking to reporters, Tharoor said his thoughts were with the families of those who lost their lives.
“It is a great pity that this was allowed to happen, especially since Indore had earned nationwide recognition as the cleanest city in India. That achievement was a matter of pride and was widely appreciated,” he said.
Tharoor said cleanliness is not just about visible aspects such as garbage disposal and waste management, though those are extremely important.
In many ways, Thiruvananthapuram can learn from Indore in waste management, he said.
“However, cleanliness also involves unseen aspects such as the quality of drinking water. On that front, we are better off here because we pay attention to it. In this case, it appears the city administration was lax in ensuring that the water people consumed was safe,” he said.
Tharoor said warnings were reportedly issued earlier and that there was some controversy surrounding the incident, but he did not wish to comment on those aspects.
“Whatever the case, responding after people have died is certainly too late,” he said.
He agreed with the view that a city cannot claim to be the cleanest if essential but less visible factors, such as drinking water safety, are neglected.
Tharoor urged all authorities concerned to act urgently to ensure that people have access to clean and safe drinking water.