Arsenic and Fluoride Contamination of Drinking Water

The following are the highlights of a statement laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on 9.3.2017 (in response to a starred question) by the Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation regarding contamination of drinking water with Arsenic and Fluoride:

Arsenic contamination above permissible limit:

·      9 states are severely affected.

·      14.8 m people are affected out of which 10.4 m are in West Bengal, 1.7 m in Bihar and 1.5 m in Assam.

·      Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are also seriously affected.

·      7820 habitations are affected in West Bengal.

Fluoride contamination above permissible limit:

·      11 states are severely affected.

·      11 m people are affected out of which 4.5 m are in Rajasthan, 1.4 m in Telangana, 1.3 m in Bihar and 0.6 m in West Bengal.

·      Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are also seriously affected.

·      6538 habitations are affected in Rajasthan.

Thus, West Bengal and Bihar both suffer from Arsenic as well as Fluoride contamination.

According to another report placed in the Lok Sabha on 9.2.2017 by the Ministry, there is widespread contamination of drinking water in a number of states. Levels of salinity, fluorides, nitrates, arsenic, iron and heavy metals exceed permissible limits.

This post relates to Chapter 12 of the book.