Shimla: Taking serious note of supply of contaminated water in Shimla city, the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Monday issued notice to the state.

A division bench of Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan, treating media reports regarding supply of contaminated water in MC Shimla as PIL, directed the chief secretary, the principal secretary (irrigation and public health), the principal secretary (health) and the municipal commissioner Shimla to be present in the court on Tuesday.

Earlier, Municipal Corporation Shimla Mayor Sanjay Chauhan had revealed that quality of Ashwani Khud Water, which is feeding about 30 percent of Shimla city population, highly contaminated and responsible for the jaundice outbreak in the city.

Mayor had accepted that untreated sewage from Malyana Sewerage Treatment Plant was being mixed with the Ashwani Khud Water source and same was being supplied in the Shimla city. The Mayor had asked IPH Department to stop lifting water from the Ashwani Khud before getting necessary clearance from National Institute of Virology, Pune.

Water from Ashwani Khud was being distributed in the Kasumpati area of the city and after stopping water supply from the Ashwani Khud, MC Shimla has diverted the water supply from Sanjauli water storage to Kusumpati water storage tanks.