Expressing serious concern over the extent of arsenic contamination in groundwater that has affected nearly 70 million people in 86 districts across 10 States, a Parliamentary panel led by senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi has favoured "mission mode” approach by the Centre to deal with the problem.
Dr. Joshi tabled the first report of the Committee on Estimates on ‘Occurrence of High Arsenic Content in Ground Water’ in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Addressing a press conference, he said it was unfortunate that a large chunk of the population in the country still had no access to safe drinking water.
As many as 38 countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan, are affected by arsenic contamination in ground water. In India, the problem has assumed alarming proportions in many States – the worst being West Bengal where it is "grave."
Nearly 36 million people in the Bengal delta basin are exposed to high risk, the report said.
Of the 19 districts in the State, 79 blocks in eight districts – Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Bardhaman, Howrah, Hooghly and Kolkata – have reported high arsenic concentrations in tube-wells, exceeding the permissible limit.
Other States affected by high arsenic content in ground water are: Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Karnataka, Manipur, Punjab and U.P.