Mangaluru : The Health Department has tested 3.5 lakh water samples of which nearly 40,000 have been found not fit for consumption, Health and Family Welfare Minister U.T. Khader has said. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a health check-up camp for construction workers here on Sunday, Mr. Khader said that samples of water from drinking water sources in each one of the primary health centres (PHCs) were tested at designated laboratories in the last few days.

Report pertaining to each one of the districts has been sent to the District Health Officer concerned and Deputy Commissioner.

Mr. Khader said that the district administration concerned have been instructed on water sources that were not fit for drinking.

The district administration and the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj should ensure that drinking water supplied to people was drawn from sources that have been certified safe, he said.

With only moderate rainfall in several places, Mr. Khader said that there will be an increase in the cases of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue. The municipal authorities should ensure that storm-water drains are unclogged. People should ensure that the fresh water stock in their houses was cleared at regular intervals to avoid breeding of mosquitoes that carry malaria parasite and dengue virus. Care should be taken to avoid accumulation of water on dried leaves and in abandoned coconut shells in the farmlands where mosquitoes breed, he said. Mr. Khader said that doctors have been told to detect vector-borne diseases at the earliest and ensure that affected people get required care.

Mr. Khader earlier inaugurated the free one-day medical camp for construction workers organised jointly by the Father Muller Hospital and the Mangaluru unit of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India. MLC Ivan D’Souza and CREDAI Mangaluru unit president D.B. Mehta attended the programme.