Ground water pollution-21 out of 22 districts in Punjab have Nitrate more than permissible limits
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
An important information was given by Minister of State for Jal Shakti & Social Justice and Empowerment Rattan Lal Kataria in Lok Sabha yesterday, about the Ground Water Pollution in all Indian state and UT’s. In the data tabled by the minister of State Rattan Lal Kataria, Punjab is also amongst the state where ground water is also polluted.
As per the data released, “Partly Affected Districts with different Contaminants in Ground Water of India, Punjab has 10 districts having Salinity (EC above 3000 micro mhos/ cm) (EC : Electrical Conductivity), 19 districts have Fluoride (above 1.5 mg/l), 21 districts have Nitrate (above 45 mg/l), 10 districts have Arsenic (above 0.01 mg/l), 9 districts have Iron (above 1mg/l ), 6 districts have Lead (above 0.01 mg/l), 8 districts have Cadmium (above 0.003 mg/l), 10 districts have Chromium (above 0.05 mg/l).
Out of 22 districts in Punjab, 21 districts have Nitrate (above 45 mg/l). Nitrate is one of the most common groundwater contaminants in rural areas. Nitrate in groundwater originates primarily from fertilizers, septic systems, and manure storage or spreading operations.
Next is Fluoride which is found in 19 districts. Excess of Fluoride has adverse effects on bone, including increased risk of fracture .
Many health-related problems in India is due to the polluted ground water having more contamination, than the permissible limits.
Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) generates ground water quality data on a regional scale through ground water quality monitoring throughout the country. This monitoring indicates the occurrence of Fluoride, Arsenic, Nitrate, Iron and Heavy Metals beyond the BIS permissible limits for human consumption in isolated pockets in various parts of the country.
Ground water pollution-21 out of 22 districts in Punjab have Nitrate more than permissible limits. As per the information provided by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) “Water being a State subject, initiatives on water management including conservation and water harvesting in the Country is primarily States’ responsibility.“
Government of India launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in 2019, a time bound campaign with a mission mode approach intended to improve water availability including ground water conditions in the water stressed blocks of 256 districts in India. In this regard, teams of officers from Central Government along-with technical officers from Ministry of Jal Shakti were deputed to visit water stressed districts and to work in close collaboration with district level officials to undertake suitable interventions.
March 26,2021
