KOLKATA: The holy Ganga
is a poison river today. It's so full of killer pollutants that those
living along its banks in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Bengal
are more prone to cancer than anywhere else in the country, says a recent
study.
Conducted by the National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) under the
Indian Council of Medical Research, the national study throws up shocking
findings. The river is thick with heavy metals and lethal chemicals
that cause cancer, it says.
"We know that the incidence of cancer was highest in the country in areas
drained by the Ganga. We also know why. Now,
we are going deeper into the problem. Hopefully, we'll be able to present a
report to the Union health ministry in a month or two," NCRP head A
Nandkumar said.
The worst-hit stretches are east Uttar Pradesh, the flood plains of Bengal and Bihar. Cancer of the gallbladder, kidneys, food pipe,
prostate, liver, kidneys, urinary bladder and skin are common in these parts.
These cases are far more common and frequently found here than elsewhere in the
country, the study says.
Even more frightening is the finding that gallbladder cancer cases along the
river course are the second highest in the world and prostate cancer highest
in the country. The survey throws up more scary findings: Of every 10,000
people surveyed, 450 men and 1,000 women were gallbladder cancer
patients. Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar's
Vaishali and rural Patna and the extensive tract
between Murshidabad and South 24-Parganas in West
Bengal are the hot zones. In these parts, of every 1 lakh
people surveyed, 20-25 were cancer patients. This is a national high.
Relentless discharge of pollutants into the riverbed is responsible.
"This is the consequence of years of abuse. Over years, industries along
the river have been releasing harmful effluents into the river. The process of
disposing of waste has been arbitrary and unscientific. The river and those
living along its banks are paying a price for this indiscretion,"
Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute director Jaideep Biswas said.
The Kolkata-based cancer institute is an associate of the National Cancer
Registry Programme.
Biswas, a senior oncologist, said Ganga water
is now laced with toxic industrial discharge such as arsenic, choride, fluoride
and other heavy metals. Dipankar Chakarabarty, director, Jadavpur University
School of Environmental Studies, concurs. "We've been extremely careless.
Indiscriminate release of industrial effluents is to blame for this."
"The arsenic that's gets into the river doesn't flow down. Iron and oxygen
present in the water form ferroso ferric oxide, which in turn bonds with
arsenic. This noxious mix settles on the riverbed. Lead and cadmium are equally
heavy and naturally sink in the river. This killer then leeches back into the
groundwater, making it poisonous," Chakrabarty explains.
Surface water, Chakrabarty explains, is treated before use. But that's clearly
not the case with groundwater and it's mostly consumed raw, often straight from
source. The impact is devastating. "The consequences of using or drinking
this poison can manifest earliest in two years and latest in 20. But by then,
it's way too late." Those who've been bathing in this poison river are
equally at danger, says Biswas. The need of the hour is to strictly implement
laws regulating discharge of industrial waste into the river.