MP Districts face Fluoride menace

Fluorosis strikes rural areas in Madhya Pradesh

When contacted for inputs on this vital issue, a state Pollution Control Board spokesman said that the CGWB findings are based on tests conducted a few years ago. He also pointed out that most the fluoride related tests by his organization have been conducted only in the urban and semi-urban areas. On a broad assessment, he emphasised, the situation would not have improved in the last few years as there has been a progressive increase in demand for ground water mainly for irrigation purpose and the water table has been dropping at a rapid pace..

Excess intake of Fluoride through drinking water and food crops irrigated with fluoride contaminated water causes fluorosis. In the initial stages, moderate ingestion of fluoride leads to dental mottling but long term ingestion affects the bones, body organs and some of the body's critical biological functions. Hence the control of drinking-water quality is critical in preventing fluorosis.

Commenting on the problem, a Public Health Engineering official here said children have started running the Water Safety Plan in many Ashram schools in the affected districts. Under this plan water with high fluoride content drawn from the tube-wells was being diluted with rain water collected in specially built underground tanks. Concerted efforts are also needed to introduce better farming techniques for reducing the farm sector’s demand and the resultant pressure on ground water. Villagers also need be told to go for water harvesting. This would help them control the quality of water they drink, he said adding there is an urgent need to inform the villagers about the relative safety of water from dug-wells. He went on to emphasise that the villagers should include in their diet the tender leaves of calcium rich “Puadia” (cassia tora), a wild shrub that grows abundantly during the monsoon season. The Paudia leaves could also be stored for round-the-year consumption.