Drinking holy water forbidden in Minsk
The holy water from the spring at Peramozhtsau Avenue has been forbidden. But it does not frighten local inhabitants. The spring is situated near a church and it is sanctified. Many Minsk inhabitants to not consider it to be polluted and even call it “holy”.
The ban was imposed by Minsk City centre for hygiene and epidemiology. Experts noted that the reason for it was freshets as a result of which dirty water got into subterranean waters.
The head of the department of public hygiene of Minsk City centre for hygiene and epidemiology Іvan Vaitovіch says:
“It was imposed as a regulation of the head sanitary physician of the Central District of Minsk. So drinking water from that spring was forbidden.
The reason for this regulation was a discrepancy between the quality of the water and hygienic regulations concerning microbiological characteristics.
It means that you can drink such water only when it is boiled. The possible reason for it is the period of freshets. There are inscriptions warning about it near the spring”.
ERB decided to go to the spring to find out what people thought about this regulation. By the way, tablets with inscriptions were already lying on the ground. During the hour our reporter spent near the spring, people were coming to drink water every 5 minutes.
The quantity of water taken by people impressed most. Only a few people came with small vessels, the majority of them had more that one 5-litre bottle. It turned out that people knew about the danger. We asked them whether they were afraid of it:
Man: “No, I’m not afraid because the water is near the church so God helps it”.
Woman: “I don’t drink any other water. I have been using a well all my life. And water from wells should also be boiled in spring”.
Woman: “Have you ever candled tap water? That’s what frightens me more. This water is much better. It can be preserved for a long time; it has no flavor and does not leave any sediment. At least it looks better”.
Man: “It is well-known that this is an old artesian well. There was a temple here and people have always drunk this water. It tastes much better than tap water”.
Epidemiologists claim that there is no connection between this spring and water pipes. That’s why we should not worry about total pollution of water in Minsk. Anyway they are planning to cancel the regulation soon. Ivan Vaitovich says:
“We continue the research. As far as I know, recent analysis showed that the quality of this water was becoming better. The regulation will most likely be cancelled soon”.
Photo by www.trud.ru
The ban was imposed by Minsk City centre for hygiene and epidemiology. Experts noted that the reason for it was freshets as a result of which dirty water got into subterranean waters.
The head of the department of public hygiene of Minsk City centre for hygiene and epidemiology Іvan Vaitovіch says:
“It was imposed as a regulation of the head sanitary physician of the Central District of Minsk. So drinking water from that spring was forbidden.
The reason for this regulation was a discrepancy between the quality of the water and hygienic regulations concerning microbiological characteristics.
It means that you can drink such water only when it is boiled. The possible reason for it is the period of freshets. There are inscriptions warning about it near the spring”.
ERB decided to go to the spring to find out what people thought about this regulation. By the way, tablets with inscriptions were already lying on the ground. During the hour our reporter spent near the spring, people were coming to drink water every 5 minutes.
The quantity of water taken by people impressed most. Only a few people came with small vessels, the majority of them had more that one 5-litre bottle. It turned out that people knew about the danger. We asked them whether they were afraid of it:
Man: “No, I’m not afraid because the water is near the church so God helps it”.
Woman: “I don’t drink any other water. I have been using a well all my life. And water from wells should also be boiled in spring”.
Woman: “Have you ever candled tap water? That’s what frightens me more. This water is much better. It can be preserved for a long time; it has no flavor and does not leave any sediment. At least it looks better”.
Man: “It is well-known that this is an old artesian well. There was a temple here and people have always drunk this water. It tastes much better than tap water”.
Epidemiologists claim that there is no connection between this spring and water pipes. That’s why we should not worry about total pollution of water in Minsk. Anyway they are planning to cancel the regulation soon. Ivan Vaitovich says:
“We continue the research. As far as I know, recent analysis showed that the quality of this water was becoming better. The regulation will most likely be cancelled soon”.
Photo by www.trud.ru
