Experts call for detailed study of the industrial belt

Bhartesh Thakur in Chandigarh

Cancer experts in Chandigarh have called for a thorough investigation into rising number of cancer cases being reported from Baddi industrial belt in Himachal Pradesh. 

Dr JS Thakur, from public health department of PGI Chandigarh, says at present it would be “unfair” to link the cancer cases with extraneous factors such as environmental pollution. “It took us 15 years to answer similar queries in Punjab. We had covered a population of 45 lakh.” He says linking cancer to a particular reason require a lot of investigation. “It is important to study the types of cancers being reported, as also the risk factors in Baddi.”

Another PGI specialist from radiotherapy department, Dr Rakesh Kapoor, says: “We can’t predict reasons for sporadic cases of cancer from a particular area like Baddi without a proper survey. You need to study incidences for a large period of at least 4-5 years to come to a conclusion. We have not conducted any such survey in Baddi.”

Dr Awadhesh Pandey of Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Sector 32, Chandigarh, emphasizes the importance of a sample size. “You need to see how many factors are being studied. The mentionable studies in the US take samples of thousands of patients. Then, the quality of research has to be ascertained,” says Dr Pandey.