27 Oct 2017
Women against arsenic: A Success Story
By Dr. Abhijit Das & Mr. Sayantan Chakrabarti
‘In arsenic infested Haringhata, West Bengal, few housewives are in the business of saving lives by supplying safe drinking water.’
The Challenge: Provision of safe drinking water in arsenic infested areas of West Bengal
India, today, has arguably entered, or at least is on the verge of entering, a phase of ‘Hydro Schizophrenia’. In other words, we are opting for myopic solutions towards fulfilling the crisis of safe water scarcity, i.e. MDG 7. Our efforts, in general, are failing to recognise the unity and integrity of the hydrologic cycle. Therefore localities are ‘slipping’ back after being covered under rural drinking water schemes. The situation is further complicated by the presence of several impurities in groundwater. Premiere among those is arsenic, a proven carcinogen.
Report