Arsenic a big threat to Kalia people

Arsenic remains a serious threat to Kalia Upazila people in Narail District, posing a big challenge to the government in achieving Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for ensuring “safe water for all” by 2013.
More than one lakh people of the Kalia Upazila, home to 41610 families, have been drinking arsenic contaminated water for a long time.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drinking arsenic-rich water for a long period results in various health hazards including skin problems, skin cancer, cancer of the bladder, kidney and lung, diseases of the blood vessels in legs and feet, diabetes, high blood pressure and reproductive disorders.
So high are the arsenic levels in Bangladesh that the World Health Organization (WHO) has described it as “the largest mass poisoning of a population in history”.
As of January 2010, a total of 65 people have been identified as arsenicosis patients and they are being provided with necessary medical treatment, Kalia Upazila health and family planning officer doctor AFM Rafiqul Hasan said.
In the Kalia municipal area alone, 97.5 per cent of the tube wells have been found affected with water containing arsenic at harmful level.
Although thousands of tube-wells are known to be pumping arsenic-contaminated water, those remain the main source of drinking water for at least 22”961 families of Kalia.
Around 81 per cent people of the municipal area use arsenic-contaminated water as drinking water and for household tasks, while 71 per cent use pool or river water for cooking, a Community Development Sangstha (CDS) report revealed.
The deplorable state of arsenic-contamination in Kalia upazila was observed when a group of journalists recently visited the area under the aegis of Advocacy and Communication for Children and Women Development Project (3 rd phase), which is being implemented by the national news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha with the assistance of Unicef. Md Anwar Uddin, deputy director of the project led the team.
Ulashi Sreejony Sangha (USS), an NGO in Kalia upazila, has been working to provide arsenic-free water among the dwellers since 2003, with the backing of the government and Unicef project. But it made little progress to date.
Executive director of USS, Khondoker Azizul Haque Moni, told newsmen that they need more logistic support to ensure arsenic-free water for all in the upazila.
Under this project, USS has installed 518 deep tube-wells, 539 Sono filters and two Sidco plant in 13 unions of the upazila.
Those Arsenic-Free Water Treatment plants have had far-reaching impact among the backward people of the region.
People come from 3 to 4 kilometers away by bicycles, vans and even by foot with big jars to fetch water from the plant everyday.
However, while visiting a Sidco plant at Bausona union, source of safe drinking water for at least 4000 people, journalist team found the plant out of order.

Courtesy of The News Today