The Daily Star Sat. May 20, 2000 Arsenic level alarming in 3 dists By Staff Correspondent Lives of rural people of Sirajganj, Jhenidah and Barisal districts are at great risk following arsenic contamination in groundwater. Our Sirajganj correspondent says: Water of a huge number of tubewells in all nine upazilas of Sirajganj district have been found contaminated by the deadly arsenic. Local Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) sources said water of almost 200 tubewells are arsenic contaminated. The affected areas are: Chowhali, Belkuchi, Raigonj, Kazipur and Sirajganj Sadar upazila. Local PHED had been asked to check the tubewells of different places in 16 districts under the northern region in January this year. Following the order PHED checked water of the tubewells every where till last March and have and sent water samples to Rajshahi Regional Research Centre to confirm whether water of the sample carry arsenic or not. After examination, over 200 tubewells of the above mentioned five upazilas have already been sealed off. Of those, a tubewell belonging to Chowhali Upazila Parishad showed excessive arsenic level. Arsenic had also been found in the tubewell water situated at Belkuchi Upazila Public Health Complex. Some persons have already been attacked by arsenic in Kazipur upazila. Arsenic has been found to a great extent in the surrounding areas of Fuljhor Degree College under Nalka union in Raigonj upazila. Four tubewells of Chhongachha union under Sirajganj Sadar Upazila have also been sealed off. PHED installed two 300 feet deep tubewells there. Ranjan Kumar Pal, Sub-Asstt. Engineer of PHED told this correspondent that arsenic has been found in Ranigram Mdhaya Para and Janpur under Sirajganj Sadar Upazila. Iasin Ali, 23, of village Janpur have been seriously affected by arsenic. Meanwhile, PHED found out a new technology to set up 1000 feet deep tubewells in those areas to protect from arsenic. Each such tubewell costs Tk. 4,500 for installation. But poor people can not afford the higher cost of installation of such tubewells. The authorities concerned should spend required amount of money for this purposes to protect poor people from arsenic contamination. It is learnt that many people are now gripped with panic of arsenic. They are collecting water from ponds and other water bodies now. Our Jhenidah correspondent says: People of Mohespur municipal area in Jhenidah district have been compelled to drink arsenic contaminated water finding no other alternative, an official of PHED said. Mohespur thana is about 55 kilometres south or south-west of Jhenidah district headquarters with a population of about 25 thousand. Number of village under Mohespur Municipality is 16 and the total area is only 7.77 square kilometre. Number of households is 5,530. But it is a matter of great regret that 400 families are provided with pure drinking water facilities. Of them 300 families are getting water supply from two deep tubewells of PHED and rest 50 families with 11 stand-post (road side) tubewells of the same department. When this correspondent visited Jaminderpara, Patibila and some parts of Mohespur municipal area he saw many people are collecting water from "red marked" tubewells. Housewife Latifa Begum, 55, farmer Habi Mollah, 61, school student Reshma Khatun, 14, and Nupur, 7, of Jaminderpara had been asked why they had been collecting arsenic contaminated water from the danger marked tubewells, they replied that they had no other alternative due to poverty. When contacted with Safiqul Azam Khan (Chanchal), Chairman Mohespur Municipality, he informed that the people of his area had been poor. As a result they could not be provided with supplied water arranged by PHED. According to him, at least 90 per cent ordinary or shallow tubewell waters in his area had been containing arsenic contamination. The information was gathered from a survey conducted by NIPSOM in 1998, Chanchal said. Talking to Basanta Kumar Joarder, Executive Engineer of PHED, Jhenidah admitted told that two tubewells had been installed in 1997 to provide pure or arsenic-free water in Mohespur municipal area with the government money at a cost of Taka 79 lakh, but PHED could not extend the programme as the 23 Town Development Programme ended in June 1997. It has been hampering the extension work to ensure pure drinking water supply for the people of Mohespur municipal area. Further, only three machines and a Sub-Assistant Engineer (SAE) could not meet the requirements of the whole thana including Mohespur municipality, he added. The Executive Engineer further informed that water of most of the tubewells had been containing arsenic above permissible level of 0.05 mg per litre of water. The people of arsenic affected area have been advised to collect drinking water from deep tubewells and other sources. Furthermore, government and non-government organisations were requested to motivate the people in this respect. The people should take sufficient vegetables and fruits to save them, the engineer added. PHED authorities, however, could not give any information about the actual figure of patients suffering from arsenicosis in Mohespur municipal area. BSS from Barisal reports: The number of arsenic stricken people has been increasing day by day here as the ground water could not be processed till now. The number of arsenic stricken people increases from 129 to 279 with the death toll 17 in different places here. This number might increase within five years if proper arsenic mitigation process could not be introduced in the rural areas, a survey report said. The Health Department conducted a survey here in the Charkaua areas on arsenic contaminated ground water and found as many as 94 arsenic stricken people there. Of them, 16 patients were found at South Chair Aicha, eight in Dinar, 69 in Karnakathi and one in Char Kalmi areas. Some 13 people of houses of Mannan and Majed Bhuiyan are now arsenic stricken patients. The dreadful situations is prevailing in Karnakhathi and Sapania under Sadar upazila. Most of the arsenic stricken people of Charkaua union are women and children, 16 of the 42 patients are below 16 years age. Meanwhile, a team of the NGO forum conducted a survey in 21 villages of Barisal Sadar, Agailjhara, Bakergonj, Hizla and Wazirpur upazila on arsenic contamination of the ground water. The team detected arsenic poison in 123 of 199 tubewells. The survey was conducted in five villages in Sadar upazila, two villages in Wazirpur, one village in Hizla, eight villages in Bakergonj and five villages in Agailjhara upazila. Water of all the tubewells of Purbakandi village under Hizla upazila are found contamination with arsenic poison. Similar is the case of Natherkandi village in Wazirpur upazila. The NGO forum said 35 of the 59 villagers have been attacked with arsenic poison as they took tubewells water regularly. The number of patients has been increasing, they added.