Over 66,700 rural habitations drink contaminated water: Govt

New Delhi: There are more than 66,700 rural habitations wherein one or more drinking water sources are contaminated and these areas are yet to be provided with safe drinking water, the government said today.

Minister of State for Drinking Water and Sanitation Ram Kripal Yadav, in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, said that of these 12,727 are fluoride-affected habitations and 1,800 arsenic-affected habitations. Prolonged consumption of water contaminated with these chemicals may be detrimental to human health.

"As reported by States and Union Territories into the online Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, there are 66,761 water quality affected habitations in rural areas of the country where one or more drinking water sources are contaminated and these habitations are yet to be provided with safe drinking water as on 1-4-2015," he said.