After decades, fluoride issue continues to haunt Nalgonda
Water-borne diseases account for 80 per cent of the total disease profile in Nalgonda
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-04-24 03:53 GMT
Hyderabad: Every election, the ill-effects of fluoride on the people of Nalgonda becomes an issue and the problem has become a bane for ruling governments who have not been able to solve it.
As per recent statistics, seven mandals falling under the Bhongir Parliament constituency and 10 under Nalgonda have been declared as “severely affected mandals” with excess presence of fluoride in groundwater (2.5 and above milligrams per liter). Ramannapet of Bhongiri is the only village free from fluoride.
Dusharala Satyanarayana of Jala Sadhana Samithi, who has filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission arguing that denying safe drinking water to citizens was a violation of human rights, said, “The government had shown only about 1,500 villages as fluoride-affected, although all habitations were troubled. The groundwater in affected villages contains fluoride levels of up to 20 mg/l, as against the permissible 0.6 mg/l-1.5 mg/l.”
The problem has led to exodus of inhabitants as well. Today, close to 1,315 villages get potable water and 178 affected villages receive no drinking water at all. It is also an established fact that water-borne diseases account for 80 per cent of the total disease profile in Nalgonda.