What is the prime risk?
Cancer as a devastating terminal disease needs no introduction. When a possibility exists that you may get the life-destroying disease just by consuming and using the water of your neighbourhood, then this is understandably a cause for sleepless nights.
The department conducts tests
The Public Health and Sanitation Department performed fresh sampling and testing and of these 16 have been found to contain carcinogenic chemicals including arsenic in the drinking water supply.
Do you live in these villages?
These villages include Dolike, Sunderpur, Khanke, Fatehgarh, Chakki, Bachhowal, Bhaini, Burj Pukhta, Cheema Khurd, Kohlan Chalan, Bada Pind, Amarjitpur, Phillaur Kalan, Chachoki, Birk, Dhesian.
Who ruined my water?
The story is not new and has been repeated all over the world from many centuries.
In economics, this is called negative externality. This means that a third-party has to suffer due to a process which benefits someone.
See, these chemicals did not just materialise out of nowhere. A long-drawn natural process has been putting these chemicals in water supply.
Industrial pollution, including from the water guzzler leather and dairy industries, in addition to residential sewage finds its way ino open (seasonal) rivers.
Once the untreated waste is dumped into water bodies in the open, the harmful chemicals begin to seep into the soil.
Why should I suffer?
The water for human consumption is arranged from groundwater by pumping and thus with the water these chemicals too find their way into your glass of water, water used for bathing, water used for sanitation, and every other activity.
Technical details
Safe limit for the chemical is less than 11.4 parts per billion. In 2018, this was 3.5. Good, right? But now it is 688.
What is the future ahead?
As is often the case whenever conflict of interests happens with for-profit endeavours and government, the government (and thus the individuals and organizations which are not exempted from tax) bears the burden of someone else’s profits.
So, here also, paying taxpayers’ money will be used and purifiers will be installed to remove the chemicals which have been introduced into the water because many are not shouldering their burden.
Still, some cost will be recovered from the consumers in the form of extra charge of Rs 0.15 to 0.20 per litre.