Contaminated drinking water causing physical disabilities in Palamu village, allege locals

Residents of a village in Palamu, Jharkhand have reported that they have been facing serious issues in the water quality in the area. The residents believe that the water has been contaminated with fluoride, which they suspect is leading to physical disabilities. Villagers claim that the contaminated water damages bones and teeth, while many young people have lost their lives.

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A recurring problem for years

Various residents have stated that they are facing this issue for 25 years and that the poor water quality has also lead to premature deaths in the region. The residents claim that most people living in the village are aged above 50 years, because most of the younger generation has left because of the poor quality of water. The doctors have claimed that there is no remedy to this issue. 

A resident said that a social activist had once come to the village and took samples, which reflected that there was an increased presence of fluoride. 

Jharkhand will go to polls in five phases from November 30. The first phase of polling will be held on November 30, the second phase on December 6, the third phase on December 12, the fourth phase on December 16 and the last phase on December 20.
The Congress has forged an alliance with the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in the state to take on the BJP. In 2014, the BJP, which won 43 seats, formed the government along with All Jharkhand Students' Union (AJSU), which had won five seats, under the leadership of Raghubar Das.

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The issue of water pollution has plagued New Delhi as well. Recently, Union Consumer Affairs Minister Ram Vilas Paswan released the second phase of the Bureau of Indian Standardisation (BIS) study which stated that Delhi along with Kolkata and Chennai failed in almost 10 out of 11 quality parameters of drinking water. In the first phase of its survey, the BIS had found all the 11 samples drawn from Delhi did not comply with the quality norm and the piped water was not safe for drinking purposes, as per news agency PTI. Testing of water samples was conducted to check organoleptic and physical parameters and know the chemical and toxic substances and bacteriological quality besides virological and biological parameters, as per PTI reports. 

The Supreme Court, on Monday, took suo-moto cognizance of the issue and asked centre and Delhi government to bring forth data on the water quality in Delhi.

(With ANI inputs)

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