GEORGE TOWN: A DAP politician has hit out at a water company for cutting water supply to a squatter village near Bedong, Kedah, saying it should have taken a humanitarian approach to the situation.
In particular, he referred to a provision under Section D, Clause 20.3, which states that termination of water supply to squatters requires a court order.
The regulation, which came into effect on Aug 15, 2014, is part of a subsidiary law under the Water Services Industry Act 2006.
“If it had gone to court, the court could have considered the plight of the residents and the implications of water termination to their health and well-being,” he said, urging Sada to reconnect the water supply.
They rely on water from the well and harvest rainwater.
There are just two water pipes, one at each end of the village.
The landowners have refused to allow the installation of power lines or individual water meters.
Ramasamy urged the Kedah government not to wash its hands of the matter, saying it should waive the bill and find ways to help the villagers.
“Terminating water supply to residents, even if they are living on private land, is an act of extreme cruelty,” he said.
Previously, Kedah executive councillor Summugam Rengasamy said the state government had tried to help the squatters by getting them to stay at another neighbourhood, but they refused to do so.

E. coli has been detected in the water supply to one Wairarapa town.
Photo: RNZ / Karoline Tuckey The South Wairarapa District Council said a boil water notice has been issued for anyone connected to Martinborough’s water supply.
The notice was issued after low levels of the bacteria were found in the town’s drinking water on Friday.
Water is being trucked in for people to drink at today’s Martinborough Fair, as the water supply is contaminated.
200 litre tanks of fresh drinking water will be stationed around the town square but organisers also recommend people bring their own water if possible.
South Wairarapa District Council assets and operations manager Lawrence Stephenson said testing was underway to trace the contamination.
"All our testing of the actual water going into the network has come out clear and the treatment plant itself has been operating well.
We’re trying to identify the source in the actual network."
Mr Stephenson said water in Martinborough was not chlorinated, as the chlorine reacted to manganese in the water, turning it brown.
Copyright © 2019, Radio New Zealand

PORVORIM: The over two year wait for piped water of the residents of Kadamba plateau will come to an end by march 2019, said minister for PWD and transport Ramkrishna Dhavalikar on Thursday.
He however, put a rider to his assurance by saying that water supply to Ribandar, Kadamba plateau and Panaji would depend on the completion of the 27 MLD water treatment plant at Opa.
Since early 2017, residents of Kadamba Plateau have been petitioning the government for piped water.
The residents currently depend on a steady stream of water tankers and bore wells for their water needs.
“Water supply to the residents of Kadamba Plateau will be made available only after the completion and commissioning of 27 MLD Water Treatment Plant at Opa,” PWD minister Ramkrishna Dhavalikar informed lawmakers in a written reply.
The minister said that his department had already begun the work to lay the water pipeline along the plateau and the residents could expect piped water by March 2019.
Kadamba plateau, which is a less than five kilometers away from the state capital, is emerging as a real-estate hotspot with several residential projects, three major schools and at least one major hospital coming up in the vicinity.
With the Old Goa-bypass being commissioned, the area is emerging as an urban outgrowth of Panaji but lack of proper water supply and power infrastructure has been a dampener.
“The work of laying of pipeline along NH 4A in Kadamba Plateau is in progress and will likely to be completed by March, 2019,” Dhavalikar said.
Residents of Kadamba plateau have held multiple ‘jal satyagraha’ and silent protests to celebrate Liberation Day and to voice their disappointment over the long-term water scarcity in the area despite government assurances.

Jan 31, Colombo: The World Bank has agreed to extend further assistance to expand the Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project, which is currently being implemented in 7 districts, to many other districts.
A delegation of World Bank from Washington led by special World Bank representative Takuya Kamata called on the Minister of City Planning, Water Supply and Higher Education Rauff Hakeem and held discussions recently.
During the discussion, the World Bank representative consented to grant further assistance to expand the implementation of the Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project in Sri Lanka.
Also attention was drawn to establish a task force with the collaboration of three Ministries related to this subject to meet the water requirement of the public by discovering water sources and constructing reservoirs.
Accordingly, the task force will be headed by the Secretaries of the Ministry of Water Supply, Ministry of Irrigation and the Ministry of Mahaweli Development.
Minister Hakeem, emphasized that to provide pure drinking water to areas with water scarcity the attention of the Ministry is drawn to the construction of tube wells, discovering new water sources and constructing of reservoirs.
The Minister also explained to the delegation the opportunity to alleviate poverty and enhance living standards of the poor through providing pure drinking water and sanitary facilities to under privileged rural communities, including plantation workers.
Ministry Secretary Priyantha Mayadunne, National Water Supply and Drainage Board Chairman K.A.
Ansar, Director of World Bank Project of Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement, NUK.
Ranatunga, and other delegates, Ms. Prathibha Mistry and Thiruli Liyanage and several other officials were present at the discussion.

People living in the settlements of Port Moresby Northeast will soon have access to clean drinking water and sanitation.
The water supply project will cover Manuti, ATS, Bushwara, Parea and Eight-Mile settlements.
This was made possible by the MP for Moresby Northeast electorate John Kaupa, who presented a K1 million cheque to the Minister for Public Enterprises and State Investments William Duma on behalf of Eda Ranu in Port Moresby yesterday.
Mr Kaupa, who is Minister for Housing and Urbanisation, said dealing with water supply for the settlements is very problematic because Eda Ranu has system pipes for the urban areas.
He said his electoral officers have worked closely with Eda Ranu, and after many feasibility studies, have come up with the best working plan for water supply in all settlements in the electorate.
“Eda Ranu will work with my DDA team to bring water into the settlements for everyone.
Without electricity and other necessities people can still live and survive on water,” Mr Kaupa said.
“This K1 million is for Eda Ranu to upgrade the water system in my electorate and is the first payment from the district services improvement program (DSIP) funds.” He said he made a commitment of K2m and NCD Governor Powes Parkop has also allocated K2m, bringing the total to K4 million for water supply.
Mr Kaupa also presented a K350,000 cheque to Eda Ranu as minister responsible for housing, for the completion for water supply to the Duran farm housing project.

Is federalism really capable of bringing a paradigm shift in water resource management of Kathmandu Valley?
“The crisis is prevalent in the entire Kathmandu Valley, but it is the northeastern side that is bearing the brunt the most.” The researcher explains that the migration pattern of Kathmandu Valley is largely horizontal: human settlements are moving from the centre to the outskirts.
“But, the pattern of water flow is quite opposite; it flows from north to south,” he describes, “Hence, horizontal urbanisation results in increased water scarcity.” “Though it is not immediately possible to take a large number of people out of Kathmandu, our hope is that people will stop migrating to Kathmandu before the crisis turns deeper, due to the new federal structure,” Adhikari says, “We cannot decipher what happens after that if our hope fails.” ‘But not a magic wand’ Experts, however, are uncertain about the impact of federal setup on water resource management of the valley, given the poor and unscientific distribution of natural resources.
Doing so in other places will also take an equal amount of time.” Therefore, Paudel suspects the validity of the hypothesis that the introduction of federalism can immediately change the migration pattern and encourage people to live in cities other than Kathmandu.
“Federalism is the decentralisation of governing system,” he defines, “With the decentralisation of government, everything else is decentralised.” Erroneous execution But, Nepal’s problem, according to Sharma, is the ill implementation of the ideal system.
“In such systems, other systems are decentralised, but not the governing system.
“My wish was that all seven provincial capitals would be established outside already developed cities.
If we had done that, we could have planned the cities in a completely new way,” he laments the lost possibility, “It could have brought a big shift in the entire demographic pattern and infrastructure development works in the country.” Sharma says the foundation of bad practice lies in the constitution.
“The constitution has restricted the rights of provincial and local governments.
Hoping against hope Though frustrated with the current working style of provincial and federal political leadership and bureaucrats, Sharma says the correction is still possible if the stakeholders realise intrinsic values of federalism.

Propaganda: Fluoride prevents tooth decay and is harmless additive found in toothpaste, rinses and our water supply.
Reality: Fluoride is a cumulative poison, it’s one of the most toxic substances on Earth, only about half of what we consume is excreted.
The other half collects in the teeth and bones, making them dense but brittle.
Ninety-eight percent of European countries are banning fluoride because of health concerns.
Cities throughout this country buy this witch’s brew, which contains less than 20 percent total fluoride (and the rest extremely toxic waste, silicofluoride).
Apparently we are supposed to accept the fact that toxic fluoride is being piped into our homes so that we all have access to free mouthwash.
If fluoride only works topically, why are we still saturating our tissue with it through the water we drink and the water we bathe in?
Let’s join most of the world in refusing to add this substance to our drinking water.
Lisa Stålfors Aspen

A boil advisory has been issued for the next 72 hours after a main water line broke in Union City in Ohio, according to police.
Water was temporarily shut off in the village, but turned back on shortly after.
A boil advisory has been issued for all residents in the village of Union City in Ohio, according to police.
Police say the advisory is in effect for at least 24 hours, and the water supply was shut off Tuesday afternoon.
“Please take steps to have water available for you and your family,” the department said in a Facebook post.
The cause of the advisory was not immediately known.
We’ll update this page as new details become available.

Mound, Hopkins, Hill, Woodyear, T.J. Lott, HWY 80 East, Thomastown, HWY 602, Sparta, Carpenter, Dlakeith PLTN, Byson, Montrose, Kennedy, Ashley PLTN, Duckport, VTR Airport, Etheridge, Letourneau, Disney Williams, Hannah PLTN, HWY 193, Dudley Pillows, and I-20 East.
Walnut Bayou Water is issuing a BOIL ADVISORY effective immediately for all customers in the above named areas.
this BOIL ADVISORY is to remain in effect until rescinded by the State Health Department.
It is recommended that all consumers disinfect their water before consuming it (Including Fountain Drinks), making ice, brushing teeth, or using it for food preparation or rinsing of food by the following means: Boil water for one (1) full minute in a clean container.
The one minute starts after the water has been brought to a rolling boil.
(The flat taste can be eliminated by shaking the water in a clean bottle or pouring it from one clean container to another.)
Again, please be sure to disinfect your own water prior to consumption until you have been advised otherwise.
Walnut Bayou Water System will rescind this BOIL ADVISORY upon notification from the State Regional Laboratory that samples collected from our water supply have been found to be safe.

CUSHING, Iowa (KTIV) – Officials in Cushing, Iowa, have issued a Drinking Water Advisory.
The Cushing Water Supply is recommending residents to boil their water before using for drinking or to use an alternative source.
A planned connection to the distribution system as part of the current water project had a scheduled pressure loss.
Because of potential bacterial contamination, residents are asked to boil their water.
The water may be used for bathing and other similar purposes.