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Arsenic contamination of groundwater does not spare Kolkata either. According to Dipankar Chakraborti of SOES, 78 out of 141 wards in Kolkata are arsenic-affected. “With more and more digging of ground water the number of affected areas is only likely to go up further,” he said.
In 65 wards, tube wells had arsenic concentrations above 0.01 mg/litre while 30 wards had above 0.05 mg/litre. The SOES study shows that southern Kolkata is more contaminated than the northern and central parts.
People living in upmarket localities such as Anwar Shah Road and Golf Green, as well as those living in Jadavpur, Baishnabghata, Patuli, Bansdroni and Garia are suspected to be exposed to arsenic-poisoning, Chakraborti said.
According to B K Maity, Director-General (Water Supply) of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, approximately 10 per cent of the city’s water demand of 300 million gallons a day is met through underground water.
“So far, in our very preliminary survey of Kolkata Metropolitan Area and West Bengal, we have screened about 1.5 lakh people from arsenic affected areas and nearly 10 per cent of those we have registered suffer from arsenical skin lesions,” said Chakraborti.
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