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Arsenicdanger:BengalvillagesmayhavesolutionatlastRediff.com

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Arsenicdanger:Bengalvillagesmayhavesolutionatlast
Lastupdatedon:April27,201514:21IST

A health catastrophe more devastating than the Bhopal gas tragedy and the Chernobyl nuclear tragedy has
unfoldedinWestBengal,warnsanewscientificreport.
But a simple project to provide arsenicfree water gives villagers fresh hope. Rashme Sehgal reports for
Rediff.com

harnaDas,wholivesinTagariyavillagelocated14kilometresfromtheBangladeshborder,isavictimofdrinking
arseniccontaminatedwater.
"Ourentirefamilyhassufferedfromdrinkingpollutedwater.Wehaveskininfectionsandsufferfromkidneyandbladder
problems,"saysJharna.
Around50peoplehavediedofcancerfromdrinkingarseniclacedwaterinandaroundTagariyainthelastfewyears.
TagariyavillageisamongtheninedistrictsofWestBengalthatgetscontaminatedwater,adverselyimpactingtheirlives.
"Wehavebeengoingrepeatedlytobothprivateandgovernmentdoctors,butwecontinuetosuffer,"saysJharnawho
liveswithhersonSwapan,daughterinlawandgrandchildren.
"MamataBanerjee(Bengal'schiefminister)promiseduscleandrinkingwaterandthoughthestategovernmenthasdug
newtubewells,theseareshallowandourdrinkingwaterproblemremainsunsolved,"sheadds.
Swapan,whorearsgoatsforaliving,raisesthesleevesofhisshirttoshowblackpatchesonbothhisarms.
"Eventhoughwefilterthewaterwedrink,itisnotarsenicfree.Ourgroundwateriscontaminatedandourwatersupply
comesfromshallowtubewells,"hesays.
Arsenicisametalthathasnosmellortasteanddependingonlocalenvironmentalconditions,itcanleachfromsoilor
mineraldepositsintogroundwater.

recent study conducted by Dr D Nagdeve and Dr A Chattopadhya titled 'Environmental Health Catastrophe in
Eastern India: A Case Study of Arsenic Morbidity in West Bengal' has concluded that a health catastrophe more
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devastatingthanthesizeoftheBhopalgastragedyof1984andtheChernobylnucleartragedyof1986hasunfoldedin
WestBengal.
Millions of people drink groundwater with arsenic concentrations much above that permissible by the World Health
Organisation.
Thestudyhasshortlisted2,600affectedvillageslocatedinthe24PargannasNorthandSouth,Kolkata,Hoogly,Howrah,
Bardhaman,MurshidabadandMaidadistrictsofWestBengal.
The problem of arsenic contamination extends to a large part of Bangladesh where a sizeable population has been
foundtobeaffectedbythesameproblem.Thestudyfoundthatahigherconcentrationofmensufferfromthediseaseas
comparedtowomen.

eterminedtofindasolutiontotheirwaterproblem,residentsofthenearbyvillageofGaighatamanyofwhoare
membersoftheMadhusudanCooperativeSocietymetwithitschairpersonHaladharSarkartoseekhelp.
"Wearealargecooperative.Around145womenworkwithusinselfhelpgroupsandmanysufferedfromskininfections
whichdermatologistsidentifiedasbeingcausedbyarsenicinthedrinkingwater,"saysSarkar.
"We began making enquiries and learnt that Sulabh (the social service organisation) was working in this area. We
reachedouttothemtofindoutiftheycouldhelpusprovidecleandrinkingwater.Wecontacted(Sulabhfounder) Dr
Bindeshwar Pathak who agreed to help us by using an innovative model developed by the French group 1001
Fontaines,"Sarkaradds.
"Basically, they follow a fourstage purification process that uses water stored in ponds. The society owns one pond
whichisaround18feetdeepandisfedbyrainwater.Theothertwopondsareownedbylocalpeople,buttheyhave
beengenerousanddidnothesitatetoletususeit.ThesocietyinvestedRs10lakh(Rs1million)intheprojectwhile
SulabhgaveanotherRs10lakhwhichhelpedwiththeequipmentandothercosts.Wearenowinapositiontosellthis
purifiedwaterat50paisaperlitre,"saysSarkar.
"WeprovidethiswatertoBPL(BelowPovertyLine)familiesandlocalschoolsfreeofcost,"addsSarkar,"Wealsobought
adeliveryvehiclethatgoesfromhousetohousedistributing20litrestoeachfamilyperday.Atpresentwesell1,000
litresofwaterperdayearningRs100."
Dr Pathak, who inaugurated the pilot water purification project in Gaighata in February, is delighted at the villagers'
initiative.
"Thenewwaterpurificationprocesshasacapacitytoproduce8,000litresofpotablewaterperdayatacostoftenpaisa.
Butitwillbesoldat50paisaperlitreasthiswillincludecostslikedistributionandstoring.Evenpeopleinneighbouring
villagescanusethiswater,"pointsoutDrPathak.
"Thisisthecheapestpriceforcleandrinkingwateranywhereintheworld,"saystheSulabhfounder.Itissignificantthat
villagersintheneighbouringareashaverealisedthatiftheycometogetherandmakeasimilarrequest,theytoocanbe
inapositiontolaunchasimilarproject,headds.
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Sulabh has been providing inputs for four similar drinking water projects in Murshidabad and Malda districts, with
anothercomingupatAssiGhatinVaranasi.

umitaGhoshfromGaighatavillageisdelightedwiththescheme."Iwasadmittedtoahospitaltwicefortreatmentof
skinlesionsonmyfeetandlegs.Iamhappythatnowmyfamilycangetcleandrinkingwater,"shesays.
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AnotherGaighatavillager,BulluBiswas,soundssceptical."Theschemehastobekeptup.Itshouldnotcollapseasit
oftenhappenswithgovernmentschemes,"hesays.
ShantanuGhosh,whoworksfortheMadhusudanCooperativeSociety,says,"Villagerscontinuetouseuntreatedwater
forwashingutensils,clothesandbathing.Ourfocusisthattheydrinktreatedwater."
The Kolkatabased Indian Institute of Hygiene and Public Health has warned that children are most susceptible to
arsenic poisoning. Medical practitioners at the institute warn of the increasing neurological problems witnessed in
arsenicaffecteddistricts.Thepoisoningalsocausestheinabilityofwoundstohealwhichresultsingangrenesettingin,
leadingtoamputations.
ThesuccessstoryofGaighatavillagehasspreadtootherarsenicaffecteddistricts.Sulabhofficialssaytheyreceivea
largenumberofenquiriesforwhichmodalitiesarebeingworkedout.
Photographs:RajeevTyagi
RashmeSehgalinNorth24Parganas

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