Nashik: Hexavalent chromium 1,000 times safe limit found in groundwater at Ambad MIDC, says study
A study by an environmental group says groundwater in Nashik's Ambad industrial area carries about 1,000 times the safe limit of a cancer-causing chemical.
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A worrying report has come from Nashik, known as a religious city. A study by the environmental organisation South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People has found chemical elements in Nashik's groundwater that can cause cancer. According to the organisation, the water contains a toxic chemical about 1,000 times the safe limit for drinking water.
According to the organisation's report, the case concerns Ambad MIDC, an industrial area of Nashik. Groundwater samples there contained hexavalent chromium. The chemical is released by metal finishing, electroplating and paint-making factories, and the report says it has dissolved in the water after coming from these factories.
As per the Indian standard, drinking water should contain only 0.05 milligrams of this element per litre. But samples from the Ambad area showed 50.3 milligrams per litre.
The report says the Nashik Municipal Corporation does not supply water regularly or on time. As a result, many people in the area depend on groundwater from borewells and wells for drinking and daily use. The study found that long exposure to this contaminated water has led to serious skin diseases, boils on the body, swollen lymph nodes and kidney and liver ailments among people.
The report says the contaminated water is also flowing through local drains directly into the Godavari river. The Simhastha Kumbh Mela is due to be held in Nashik in the coming period. The organisation has said the situation could prove extremely dangerous for the health of lakhs of devotees who bathe at the Godavari ghats.
The organisation has sharply criticised the functioning of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). It says that despite repeated complaints, the administration has issued a notice to only one company. The organisation has also made a serious allegation that the actual results of water tests were concealed and people were kept in the dark.
There is anger among local residents over the matter. Demands are growing for an immediate high-level inquiry into the groundwater of the Godavari and surrounding areas, and for strict action, before the Kumbh Mela.
