New Delhi: Depletion of groundwater and its increasing pollution could be leading to a silent, nationwide public health crisis as aquifers in many stretches across India are becoming unfit for drinking, according to the government’s own figures.
Data submitted in Parliament by the water resources ministry on Monday shows groundwater in pockets of 158 out of the 639 districts has gone saline. It says in pockets across 267 districts, groundwater contains excess fluoride; in 385 districts, it has nitrates beyond permissible levels; in 53 there’s arsenic and there’s high level of iron in 270 districts.
Besides this, aquifers in 63 districts contain heavy metals like lead, chromium and cadmium, the presence of which in any concentration poses a danger.
The record submitted in answer to a question by Congress MP Shruti Chowdhry presents a countrywide map of where groundwater has become unfit for drinking and where contamination levels have breached government standards of safety.
The stealthily growing health crisis could be worse in rural India where facilities to even detect chronic health problems arising out of water contamination do not exist. Nearly 80% of India’s rural drinking water comes from underground sources.
Drinking fluoride-laden water beyond safe levels can lead to fluorosis which hits teeth and bones. Arsenic causes problems in the nervous system, reduces IQ level in children and in extreme cases can also cause cancer. Chromium is a known carcinogen. Presence of nitrates in drinking water leads to what is commonly called as blue baby disease which hits infants and can lead to respiratory and digestive system problems.
These chemicals have appeared in the water sources either due to too much water being drawn from deeper and deeper in the ground, or due to industrial and human waste contamination.
Data submitted in Parliament by the water resources ministry on Monday shows groundwater in pockets of 158 out of the 639 districts has gone saline. It says in pockets across 267 districts, groundwater contains excess fluoride; in 385 districts, it has nitrates beyond permissible levels; in 53 there’s arsenic and there’s high level of iron in 270 districts.
Besides this, aquifers in 63 districts contain heavy metals like lead, chromium and cadmium, the presence of which in any concentration poses a danger.
The record submitted in answer to a question by Congress MP Shruti Chowdhry presents a countrywide map of where groundwater has become unfit for drinking and where contamination levels have breached government standards of safety.
The stealthily growing health crisis could be worse in rural India where facilities to even detect chronic health problems arising out of water contamination do not exist. Nearly 80% of India’s rural drinking water comes from underground sources.
Drinking fluoride-laden water beyond safe levels can lead to fluorosis which hits teeth and bones. Arsenic causes problems in the nervous system, reduces IQ level in children and in extreme cases can also cause cancer. Chromium is a known carcinogen. Presence of nitrates in drinking water leads to what is commonly called as blue baby disease which hits infants and can lead to respiratory and digestive system problems.
These chemicals have appeared in the water sources either due to too much water being drawn from deeper and deeper in the ground, or due to industrial and human waste contamination.
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