Malwa groundwater toxic
Sadly, there is no respite for the people of Malwa from the heavy toll that the highly contaminated water in the area is taking on their health, children’s growth, soil fertility and food production. The abuse of the soil, rivers and canals with chemical-laden fertilisers and pesticides, as also poisonous industrial effluents seeping into the natural resources, are playing havoc with the flora and fauna. According to various studies, including the one commissioned by the Centre’s Department of Science and Technology, there are dangerous quantities of fluorides, uranium, aluminium, lead and magnesium in as high as 80 per cent of the groundwater, putting the inhabitants at risk of carcinogenic diseases.
Despite desperate premonition of impending disasters if the groundwater situation is not urgently checked, the Malwa region of Punjab seems to be headed for worse times. Numerous surveys in the past couple of decades have unanimously portended a calamitous scenario. The alarmingly depleting levels of the water table and the rising contamination of the water bodies with heavy metals have necessitated policy overhauls. Various high-level water commissions and authorities have been set up by successive governments with the aim of not only arresting the degradation of this precious resource but also restoring it to its pristine condition.
However, every new study on the issue by academicians and other experts reveals little improvement on the ground. Clearly, most remedial steps have been knee-jerk reactions rather than foolproof long-term solutions. That of the nearly 1,000 RO plants installed since 2009 by the government in villages have been lying defunct for some years is one of such callous cases and a criminal waste of funds. Similarly pitiful is the state of some sewage treatment plants. Even as officials and politicians go around making tall claims, the suffering residents helplessly see their near and dear ones withering away in the toxic ecosystem. A special Vidhan Sabha committee had recently suggested that a policy on groundwater extraction and recharge be framed and water conserved by agri-zoning and metering groundwater. Time for effective action is running out, for the doomsday of desertification is approaching fast.
