Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | 80% groundwater in Punjab's Malwa unfit for drinking -Ishan Kukreti

80% groundwater in Punjab's Malwa unfit for drinking -Ishan Kukreti

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Jun 28, 2018   modified Modified on Jun 28, 2018
-Down to Earth

Much of the groundwater in Malwa, Punjab has chemicals exceeding permissible limits, putting children at risk of a blood disorder

Groundwater in Malwa region of Punjab is unfit for drinking and irrigation, according to a study published recently in the Arabian Journal of Geosciences, the official journal of the Saudi Society for Geosciences.

The study also warns that children in the region are highly vulnerable to methemoglobinemia, a blood disorder in which insufficient oxygen is delivered to cells.

“The entire region is highly contaminated with nitrate, which leaves children highly vulnerable to the blue baby syndrome,” wrote Surindra Suthar, the author of the study, and an assistant professor at the School of Environment and Natural Resources, Doon University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

The study also found high levels of magnesium, fluorine, phosphates in the groundwater in many areas of the region. While some chemicals such as magnesium and fluoride are found naturally in groundwater, the presence of other chemical contaminants in the groundwater is due to agricultural practices which involve use of pesticides and fertilisers.    

Commissioned by the Centre’s Department of Science and Technology, the study analysed 76 samples from all the 16 districts. The Water Quality Index (WQI) of 80 per cent of the samples was found to be unfit for drinking. Similarly, majority of the samples were found unfit for surface irrigation.

The study found that samples from sites in Mansa, Bathinda and Muktasar were unsuitable for drinking purposes. “The Bathinda district has the highly polluted groundwater in terms of WQI. The main issue of concern is that people rely only on contaminated groundwater mainly due to non-availability of alternate drinking water sources,” the study says.

Please click here to read more.

Down to Earth, 27 June, 2018, https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/agriculture/80-groundwater-in-punjab-s-malwa-unfit-for-drinking-60951


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close