‘Unnecessary alarm’ on contaminated water

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Biman Prasad said “a lot of unnecessary alarm” was created by some people on the issue of contaminated dam water at the Balevuto Dam in Ba — allegedly linked to multiple deaths in the community.

According to the Health Ministry, the series of deaths could have been caused by a contaminated water source while the Water Authority of Fiji denied claims that a carcass had contaminated the water supply.

“I think there was a lot of unnecessary alarm created by some people in some sense deliberately, the Water Authority staff had all the tests that have been done by experts show that there was nothing of the kind that was claimed, in the water,” he said.

He emphasised the importance of factual information and urged the community to rely on credible sources to prevent unwarranted panic.

“I commend WAF for their swift response and commitment to transparency in addressing the misinformation and maintaining public confidence in the water supply.”

Mr Prasad inspected the dam area and held discussions with WAF staff to clarify the situation and assure the public of the water source’s safety.

The Minister also visited the Balevuto Health Centre for the assessment of its structural integrity.