HYDERABAD, May 16: The director-general of the Environmental Protection Agency Rafiuddin Ahmed has said that initial inquiry report into contamination of a part of Keenjhar Lake establishes presence of the pollutant elements, including urea, but fails to point out their sources.

Talking to reporters at the EPA office here on Wednesday, the DG said that urea was cause of the lake water’s contamination but its source was not yet unknown. The EPA had set up a committee to probe the contamination, which submitted the initial report on May 11, he said.

The committee comprised S.M. Yahya (chairman), Deputy Director of EPA Mujeeb Shaikh (secretary), Dr Ahsan Siddiqui water specialist, M. Shahid Farhad and chemist of EPA Abdullah Magsi (members).

Water expert Ahsan Siddiqui said that they were certain that the source of contamination was Horolo Nullah, a rainstorm drain, which carried the hazardous material.

When asked how the urea flowed into the lake from the drain, he replied that though they had established that the urea was major source of contamination they had yet to see from where it had come. He denied reports that windmills or other industrial units could have been the source.

“This report is only an initial one. We are still to complete a final report which will take into account all factors,” he said.

He said the quantity of urea in the lake water collected from the site was 50 milligram per litre but the levels of total dissolved salts and other polluting elements was not abnormally high.

Answering a question, he said the movement of oil tankers at a hydrant near the lake could also have added to the contamination.

“The tankers are washed there and it is also a possibility that residue of chemicals in the tankers might have mixed with the lake water,” he said but did not categorically attributed the disaster to oil tankers.

When asked if an anti-sulphate chemical used in construction of pedestals of windmills could be the cause of contamination, he said the committee would look into this aspect in the inquiry.

Team examines water samples

A team of experts from the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences who recently visited Keenjhar Lake and collected water samples from various sites for physical, chemical and microbiological analysis, found the lake water unfit for human consumption.

A university spokesman told journalists on Wednesday that the team also held meetings with teachers, doctors, WWF representatives, farmers and residents of localities near the lake.

The team’s water analysis report indicated that levels of conductivity, salinity, TDS and turbidity in the water samples were higher than the permissible limits of WHO.

The bacteriological analysis report showed that all samples contained unacceptable numbers of coliform bacteria (grossly polluted), therefore, the team declared the water samples unfit for human consumption and advised to dilute the impact of pollutants with freshwater, filtered and boiled water before using it.—APP