Water sources in Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri highly contaminated

Express News Service

Chennai:

The water sources in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri are highly contaminated with fluoride with the water having 9mg of fluoride per litre which is way above the permissible limits of 1-1.5 mg per litre, according to A Devaraj, project officer, Unicef.

Speaking at the two-day Partner Organisations’ Meet organized by Water.org here on Wednesday, he said Tamil Nadu may be proud to be counted among the few states to have achieved 97 per cent access to water but at the same time it should work to improve the quality of the water.

According to a recent Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board’s water quality analysis report, there is high concentration of fluoride in ground water in many parts of the districts ranging from 1.5 mg/l to 12.4 mg/l which is in excess to the permissible limit of 1.5 mg/l.

“Skeletal Fluorosis, dental Fluorosis, non-skeletal manifestation or combination of the above are the resultant diseases suffered by the people due to the consumption of fluoride contaminated water over a prolonged period,” the report stated

Devaraj also highlighted the rise in bacterial contamination of water and said that it is mostly due to unhygienic behavior of people.

“Although the water quality in the state is not safe, the bureaucrats are refusing to accept it. Even the water which is supplied in Krishnagiri is from Bangalore drains which is cleaned and distributed to the people,” he said.

He pointed out the need to work out a sustainable solution for effective community participation and stressed the need to sensitise the representative of local administration in the villages and districts on the issues related to water.

“Nowadays those who are elected to panchayats perform more like contractors and seldom think of long term goals,” he said.

Meanwhile, water.org has conducted a baseline study in their target villages spread over five states which include Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa. Heather Arney, senior manager international programmes, water.org, said the study,  conducted in 11176 households,  found out that 56 per cent of people don’t get enough quantity of water.

The study also found that 68 per cent of people defecate in open places with 24 per cent of people saying toilet is not a priority. It also found out that 49 per cent respondents dip hands into the container to draw water while 24 per cent never wash hands

Heather said Water.org is also working on a $4.1 million project to provide greater access to safe water and sanitation for those currently living without these basic necessities in India.

“The three-year project implemented in June 2008 will directly impact a minimum of 120,000 lives. Women and Children comprise and estimated 68 percent of this total. Approximately 60,000 will be served through traditional grants while additional 60,000 people will be served through water credit,” Heather added.

 The two-day second Partner Organisations Meet (Experience Sharing and Review Meeting) of Water.org- PepsiCo Foundation conducted at Chennai with PepsiCo Foundation support consists of 10 partner organizations. The representatives will participate and share their activities and success stories in the field of water and sanitation.

Water.org works with five leading microfinance in situations in India to promote WaterCredit and thus create access to safe drinking water and adequate sanitation facilities through loans. “Towards reaching minimum 90,000 beneficiaries under the Pepsico Foundation funded program, five leading micro-finance institutes in India viz. Guardian, BISWA, ESAF & Hand In Hand and GrameenKoota are partnering with us. Nearly, 7000 water and sanitation loans were provided to reach 37,400 beneficiaries during last 18 months,” Heather added.

Findings of the survey conducted in 11176 households of five states

--- 56% don’t get enough quantity of water

--- 72% women are engaged in water collection

---  68% defecate in open places

--  7.8% only boil water daily

---  49% respondents dip hands into the container to draw water

----  24% never wash hands