Mitigation and Remedy of Groundwater Arsenic Menace in India

Arsenic Menace in India- An Appraisal2.3.3.3. Uttar Pradesh (UP)Groundwater arsenic contamination in UP was first exposed in 2003 by SOES fromsurvey of 25 villages in Ballia district. Thereafter, with continued survey two more districts,Gazipur and Varanasi were detected for arsenic groundwater contamination. As of 2008, 3districts covering 69 villages in 7 blocks in Uttar Pradesh were found affected by arsenicgroundwater contamination and people suffering from arsenical skin lesions. The used to drinkwater of hand pump operated tube wells. All those tube wells tap groundwater from shallowaquifer below about 20-30 m. Figure 2.10 and Table 2.6 show the arsenic contaminationsituation in UP. Ironically it was interesting to note that, all the arsenic affected districts in UPand 12 districts in Bihar are aligned along the linear track of the river Ganga, so is the position inWest Bengal where it is along the river Bhagirathi. Questions are: whether are they from samegenesis and are of same outcrops and sources? What are the reasons of activation along theflood plains of the river course? Etc. A thorough survey is required to understand the root causesand magnitude of arsenic contamination in UP, as well. Areas of UP adjacent to arseniccontaminated Terai region need investigations. Figure 2.11 shows some arsenic affectedpatients from UP.Figure 2.10 : Arsenic affected districts in UP and Bihar along the river course of the Ganga(Source: SOES).24NIH & CGWB