Arsenic alarm in ground water in villages of Bhagalpur

- By Dr. Ashok Ghosh, in Bhagalpur Thousands of people living in over hundreds of villages in different districts of Bihar including Bhagalpur and Sahebganj district of Jharkhand are facing serious threat to their health due to alarmingly high quantity of arsenic present in the underground water. Bihar is facing one of the gravest natural disasters in the form of arsenic contamination of ground water. In the first detailed study of ground water quality, the Department of Environment and Water Management, AN College, Patna, has already submitted Interim Reports to PHED and UNICEF about the alarming findings on arsenic poisoning cases in the districts of Patna, Bhojpur, Vaishali and Bhagalpur. The study was conducted from April 2004 to May 2006, the study area being confined to 10 kms, wide belt along the Ganga river as per the instructions of PHED and UNICEF. According to Dr Ashok Ghosh, Principal Investigator of Project Arsenic, Department Of EWM, AN College, these findings …