People of nearly 60 villages under three blocks of Bolpur sub-division have been drinking contaminated water due to sheer callousness of the panchayat and zilla parishad (ZP) authorities. A report from the public health and engineering (PHE) department has revealed that the water from tube-wells of those villages carry germs of enteric and other epidemic diseases. “If the tube-wells are not maintained properly, an epidemic may spread in those villages any time soon. We have sent the report a number of times to the ZP and the panchayat but they have not taken any corrective measures yet,” said a senior PHE official of Birbhum. According to the report, the PHE authorities usually test the status of drinking water of each village. They also prepare a monthly report regularly on the findings. The PHE authorities are worried after the August 2011 report revealed that 60 villages under different panchayat areas of Bolpur are drinking contaminated water. According to the report, at least 20 villages under Nanoor block, 25 villages under Bolpur block and the rest from Illambazar block, are suffering from the crisis. The villagers of those areas are mostly dependent on water from deep tube-wells set up by the panchayats. “The water is carrying germs (bacteria). Water in 60 out of 200 villages are completely contaminated. We have already sent a report to the authorities concerned and asked them to refine the water of the tube wells as it is a very serious matter concerning public health,” said Mr Chandan Ghosh, chief chemist, Bolpur mechanical division, PHE. The officials said the department was responsible for testing the water, while the panchayat and the ZP are concerned about supplying pure water to the villages. Interesting, the jana swasthya (public health) karmadhyakhsya, Mr Bakul Gharui, said: “We are not familiar about the matter. No report from the PHE department has been sent to us so far. We will soon take steps after we receive the report."