Poisoned Punjab: A single street in this city is home to some 20 cancer patients

Poisoned Punjab: A single street in this city is home to some 20 cancer patients

Subject :Environment

Section :Pollution

Context:

• An entire street in Abohar city of Fazilka district is colloquially known as “cancer street”, as a large number of cancer cases are reported among the residents.

Details:

• Water contaminated with high levels of arsenic is a cause of bladder cancer, and it’s also been associated with skin and lung cancers.
• Villages like Gaunspur, Churi Wala, Dharangwala and Burj Mohar have a huge burden of diseases like cancer deaths, severe skin and dental issues and intellectual disabilities in children.
• At least 20 people suffer from cancer on street number 2 of the road, a lengthy lane with 65 households.
• Major cause: Polluted water from industrial effluents and municipal wastes.
  • Polluted water from the Buddha nullah merges with the Sutlej, which in turn feeds the Sirhind canal, which is the main source of water for these villages and Abohar city.
  • The Buddha nullah is a 40 km long stream that passes through Ludhiana city before merging with the river in the Ludhiana district.

Pollution is causing cancer:

• Sewers carrying industrial, agricultural, domestic and municipal waste have been entering the nullah for a long time.
• In 2010, the Union Ministry of Environment & Forests declared the nullah a critically polluted area.
• Dyeing and electroplating industries use heavy metals and their effluents get dumped into the Buddha Nullaillegally.
• The groundwater is unfit for drinking as the total dissolved solid (TDS) levels are around 3,000 milligrams per litre (mg/L), which is higher than the permissible limit of 500 mg/L.