Millions Drink Toxic Water In Northern India.

May 9, 2006

Millions Drink Toxic Water In Northern India Map of Uttar Pradesh, Northern India. by Staff WritersLucknow, India (AFP) May 08, 2006 http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Millions_Drink_Toxic_Water_In_Northern_India.htmlMillions of people in poverty-ridden northern India are drinking water laced with cancer-causing chemicals, a government minister said Friday. A report released this week by the public works department in India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, said the water was "not fit for human consumption" and could lead to cancer and other illnesses. Contaminants such as arsenic, lead and cadmium were present in groundwater sources tested in 42 out of 70 districts, State Urban Development Minister Mohammed Azam Khan said, describing

the findings as "frightening." "Once contaminated, it is very difficult to purify the water," the report added. The minister said the state would ask the World Bank for help in providing clean water. Doctors said there had been an upsurge in cancer among Uttar Pradesh's 180 million people in recent years, which could be linked to the polluted water. "If people are drinking water containing lead and arsenic it's bound to cause cancer sooner or later," said Sandeep Agarwal, a cancer specialist at the government-run King George's Medical College hospital. "Cancer has become very common even in young people. Earlier only 600 to 700 cancer cases were detected (at the college) a year but now the number is over 2,000," he said, adding that contaminated water could be one of the key causes. The majority of the sick were from rural areas, where untreated groundwater was the only source of

drinking water, he said. Source: Agence France-Presse "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

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