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Arsenicdanger:BengalvillagesmayhavesolutionatlastLastupdatedon:April27,201514:21IST

A health catastrophe more devastating than the Bhopal gas tragedy and the Chernobyl nuclear tragedy hasunfoldedinWestBengal,warnsanewscientificreport.

But a simple project to provide arsenicfree water gives villagers fresh hope. Rashme Sehgal reports forRediff.com

JharnaDas,wholivesinTagariyavillagelocated14kilometresfromtheBangladeshborder, isavictimofdrinkingarseniccontaminatedwater.

"Ourentirefamilyhassufferedfromdrinkingpollutedwater.Wehaveskininfectionsandsufferfromkidneyandbladderproblems,"saysJharna.

Around50peoplehavediedofcancerfromdrinkingarseniclacedwaterinandaroundTagariyainthelastfewyears.TagariyavillageisamongtheninedistrictsofWestBengalthatgetscontaminatedwater,adverselyimpactingtheirlives.

"Wehavebeengoingrepeatedlytobothprivateandgovernmentdoctors,butwecontinuetosuffer,"saysJharnawholiveswithhersonSwapan,daughterinlawandgrandchildren.

"MamataBanerjee(Bengal'schiefminister)promiseduscleandrinkingwaterandthoughthestategovernmenthasdugnewtubewells,theseareshallowandourdrinkingwaterproblemremainsunsolved,"sheadds.

Swapan,whorearsgoatsforaliving,raisesthesleevesofhisshirttoshowblackpatchesonbothhisarms.

"Eventhoughwefilterthewaterwedrink,itisnotarsenicfree.Ourgroundwateriscontaminatedandourwatersupplycomesfromshallowtubewells,"hesays.

Arsenicisametalthathasnosmellortasteanddependingonlocalenvironmentalconditions,itcanleachfromsoilormineraldepositsintogroundwater.

A recent study conducted byDrDNagdeve andDr AChattopadhya titled 'Environmental HealthCatastrophe inEastern India: A Case Study of Arsenic Morbidity in West Bengal' has concluded that a health catastrophe more

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devastatingthanthesizeoftheBhopalgastragedyof1984andtheChernobylnucleartragedyof1986hasunfoldedinWestBengal.

Millions of people drink groundwater with arsenic concentrationsmuch above that permissible by theWorld HealthOrganisation.

Thestudyhasshortlisted2,600affectedvillageslocatedinthe24PargannasNorthandSouth,Kolkata,Hoogly,Howrah,Bardhaman,MurshidabadandMaidadistrictsofWestBengal.

Theproblemofarseniccontaminationextends toa largepartofBangladeshwhereasizeablepopulationhasbeenfoundtobeaffectedbythesameproblem.Thestudyfoundthatahigherconcentrationofmensufferfromthediseaseascomparedtowomen.

Determinedtofindasolutiontotheirwaterproblem,residentsofthenearbyvillageofGaighatamanyofwhoaremembersoftheMadhusudanCooperativeSocietymetwithitschairpersonHaladharSarkartoseekhelp.

"Wearealargecooperative.Around145womenworkwithusinselfhelpgroupsandmanysufferedfromskininfectionswhichdermatologistsidentifiedasbeingcausedbyarsenicinthedrinkingwater,"saysSarkar.

"We beganmaking enquiries and learnt that Sulabh (the social service organisation) wasworking in this area.Wereachedout to themtofindout if theycouldhelpusprovidecleandrinkingwater.Wecontacted(Sulabhfounder)DrBindeshwar Pathak who agreed to help us by using an innovative model developed by the French group 1001Fontaines,"Sarkaradds.

"Basically, they followa fourstagepurificationprocess thatuseswater stored inponds.Thesocietyownsonepondwhichisaround18feetdeepandisfedbyrainwater.Theothertwopondsareownedbylocalpeople,buttheyhavebeengenerousanddidnothesitatetoletususeit.ThesocietyinvestedRs10lakh(Rs1million)intheprojectwhileSulabhgaveanotherRs10lakhwhichhelpedwiththeequipmentandothercosts.Wearenowinapositiontosellthispurifiedwaterat50paisaperlitre,"saysSarkar.

"WeprovidethiswatertoBPL(BelowPovertyLine)familiesandlocalschoolsfreeofcost,"addsSarkar,"Wealsoboughtadeliveryvehiclethatgoesfromhousetohousedistributing20litrestoeachfamilyperday.Atpresentwesell1,000litresofwaterperdayearningRs100."

DrPathak,who inaugurated the pilotwater purification project inGaighata inFebruary, is delighted at the villagers'initiative.

"Thenewwaterpurificationprocesshasacapacitytoproduce8,000litresofpotablewaterperdayatacostoftenpaisa.Butitwillbesoldat50paisaperlitreasthiswillincludecostslikedistributionandstoring.Evenpeopleinneighbouringvillagescanusethiswater,"pointsoutDrPathak.

"Thisisthecheapestpriceforcleandrinkingwateranywhereintheworld,"saystheSulabhfounder.Itissignificantthatvillagersintheneighbouringareashaverealisedthatiftheycometogetherandmakeasimilarrequest,theytoocanbeinapositiontolaunchasimilarproject,headds.

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Sulabh has been providing inputs for four similar drinking water projects in Murshidabad and Malda districts, withanothercomingupatAssiGhatinVaranasi.

SumitaGhoshfromGaighatavillageisdelightedwiththescheme."Iwasadmittedtoahospitaltwicefortreatmentofskinlesionsonmyfeetandlegs.Iamhappythatnowmyfamilycangetcleandrinkingwater,"shesays.

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AnotherGaighatavillager,BulluBiswas,soundssceptical."Theschemehastobekeptup.Itshouldnotcollapseasitoftenhappenswithgovernmentschemes,"hesays.

ShantanuGhosh,whoworksfortheMadhusudanCooperativeSociety,says,"Villagerscontinuetouseuntreatedwaterforwashingutensils,clothesandbathing.Ourfocusisthattheydrinktreatedwater."

The Kolkatabased Indian Institute of Hygiene and Public Health has warned that children are most susceptible toarsenic poisoning. Medical practitioners at the institute warn of the increasing neurological problems witnessed inarsenicaffecteddistricts.Thepoisoningalsocausestheinabilityofwoundstohealwhichresultsingangrenesettingin,leadingtoamputations.

ThesuccessstoryofGaighatavillagehasspreadtootherarsenicaffecteddistricts.Sulabhofficialssaytheyreceivealargenumberofenquiriesforwhichmodalitiesarebeingworkedout.

Photographs:RajeevTyagi

RashmeSehgalinNorth24Parganas