NALBARI, Sept 13 - The State Referral Laboratory of the Public Health Engineering Department at Guwahati has confirmed the presence of dreaded arsenic in seven more tubewells under Belsor division in Nalbari district.
The Belsor division collected drinking water samples from 21 tubewells of Government offices, schools, anganwadi centres among others and sent them to the State Referral Laboratory for confirmation of arsenic contamination. The report sent by the laboratory this week confirmed high contamination of arsenic in drinking water.
According to the sources, an anganwadi centre of that locality is highly affected by arsenic contamination. Sources further said that the Belsor PHE Department under the 100 days programme of the State Government, collected water samples from 207 tubewells and tested it in their own laboratory. The initial test of the water samples reportedly indicated that some more tubewells are affected by arsenic contamination. Now the PHE Department will collect fresh water samples from the suspected tubewells and send them to the district and State Referral Laboratory for further investigation, the sources added.
While talking to this correspondent, the Deputy Commissioner, Nalbari Ananta Lal Gyani said that the district administration has taken the issue of fluoride and arsenic contamination in drinking water sources in some areas of the district seriously. The district administration will submit a report to the State Government stating the actual scenario of arsenic and fluoride contamination. The PHE Department is preparing the ground report to submit it to the Government.
The Deputy Commissioner further said that to generate awareness among the people, NGO activists have been engaged in different places of the district. Even school teachers have been asked to make the students aware and use the water filters given by the department.
It may be mentioned here that arsenic and fluoride have been found in alarming proportions in drinking water sources in the district. According to sources, areas like Mularkuchi, Balizar, Chakbazar, Kordoitola, Madhupur, Balitara, Dhamdhama, Mugkuchi, Haparkuchi are highly contaminated by arsenic.
