South Coast Railway says water quality tests meet prescribed standards
Drinking water supplied across the South Coast Railway (SCoR) network has been found to conform to prescribed health and safety norms, the railway zone said on Monday, following a week-long water quality monitoring drive conducted across its four divisions.
According to data released by SCoR, the exercise covered 3,680 water supply checkpoints, including passenger stations, railway residential colonies and hospitals in Visakhapatnam and other areas falling under its jurisdiction. Officials said the samples collected during the drive were found to be compliant with the parameters specified under the Indian Railways Medical Manual (IRMM).
The monitoring exercise placed particular emphasis on residual chlorine levels, a critical indicator of how effectively water is disinfected within the distribution system. Across the four divisions, 3,441 distribution points were tested, and officials confirmed that chlorine concentrations at each location fell within the prescribed limits.
Health teams additionally collected 211 water samples from passenger areas and medical establishments for bacteriological analysis, testing for indicator organisms such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) and coliform bacteria. Railway officials said that none of the samples tested positive for the organisms screened. The samples were drawn from pipelines, overhead storage tanks and water coolers installed at stations.
Separately, 28 chemical tests were conducted to assess parameters such as pH value, total dissolved solids (TDS) and heavy metal content, all of which were found to be within permissible limits, officials added.
SCoR said that such quality checks form part of a routine periodic exercise, with major installations inspected monthly and smaller stations examined once every two months.
General Manager Sandeep Mathur said that daily monitoring of residual chlorine levels would continue across the zone. He also directed officials to conduct surprise inspections to ensure that water quality standards are maintained amid seasonal changes and fluctuations in railway operations.