December 14, 2018
Bangla Govt taking initiatives to tackle arsenic contamination
The State Government has firmly taken up the challenge of addressing the issue of arsenic contamination, said the State Water Investigation and Development Minister recently at a national seminar on the issue of surface water in rural Bangla.
Unfortunately, arsenic affects the groundwater in 83 blocks, most of them in the districts of North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. This groundwater is pumped up through tube-wells for drinking and other purposes, and when consumed for a long time, it affects the bodies, especially the skin.
According to the minister, the government is extracting water from perennial rivers and purifying it for providing arsenic-free purified water to the people of the State. For example, he said, in the districts of Bankura and Purulia, the government has successfully extracted water from the DVC and purified it for supplying to the people.
However, he said, this is also time-consuming, and so the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will be providing financial help to the government to undertake scientific projects for arsenic prevention.
Stressing on the need for a massive campaign to control the spread of arsenic contamination, the minister urged the private sector, including the NGOs, to come forward for tackling the issue.
Source: Millennium Post
