Arsenic water eats into Ballia villagers’ health

BALLIA: A 22-year-old differently-abled girl of Ramgarh village, Ballia, Fatima has given up hope of getting married as her father Mohammad Alauddin has been unable to find suitable match for her despite struggling for five years. Alauddin said the condition is not by birth, she became weak gradually, as drinking water in the village is laced with arsenic.
Like her there are many young boys and girls in Ramgarh as also in over a dozen nearby villages along the Ganga, including Meenapur, Durjanpur, Shahpur, Shrinagar, Gangouli and Gangapur where arsenic contaminates drinking water.The young have developed different forms of disability, which is hindering their future prospects of career and marriage.
As per estimates, arsenic level in groundwater is 150 to 500 microgram per litre, which is 500% more than the safe limit of 10 micrograms. Its consumption has not only made locals suffer skin infections like white and black patches and scars all over the body but also kidney infections, lung and bladder cancer in several cases. Some even complained of blurred vision.
Alauddin said, “Who will marry my daughter? Her fault is to be born in Ramgarh where skin, lung and stomach diseases are rampant because of arsenic mixed in water. I have spent about Rs 2 lakh to save her life despite my poor financial condition.” Almost 90% villagers are suffering from different ailments because of contaminated water but no government has worked on ensuring supply of clean drinking water.
Another local, Chandra Prakash Singh pointed at his bloated stomach and said, “This is a severe stomach infection I caught when I was very young. No one in our village lives beyond 50-60 years as the metal (arsenic) slowly eats into the body, making bones weak and causing cancer of various organs.”
Locals complain politicians have been making false promises in every election to ensure clean supply water to the villages affected but till date, there is no change in the fatal situation. Because there is no relief, villagers are forced to buy RO water at higher rates from local plants. Over a dozen RO plants have flourished around this belt to cater to the need.
Jal Nigam had built a water tank in this area about 20 years ago which is filled using groundwater. The boring is 450 feet underground where water has 17-18 microgram of arsenic per litre. Jal Nigam says till two months back, government’s permissible limit of arsenic was 50 microgram per litre which has now been reduced to 10 microgram. Jal Nigam executive engineer Fraindra Rai said, “Because of change in standard, we have to make now a new boring 850-1,050 feet deep.”
A primary school teacher Ramesh Choubey said Jal Nigam had done a new boring a few months ago but had yet not begun to supply water to villagers. Jal Nigam argued the reports of water quality after new boring had yet to be tested to rule out presence of arsenic. “Central groundwater department has claimed the new boring is showing some traces of fluorine too, so we have to retest it.”
Meanwhile, villagers are dependent on hospitals in Ballia Nagar or along Bihar border for treatment as the primary health centre here is closed for many years and the building is dilapidated. Chandragupta Yadav, a Gangapur local suffering from bladder infection for last 10 years said, “I have to visit Patna every month to get treated as there is no hospital nearby that can treat my infection.”