August 2007 Edition
Civil Society News
New Delhi
YOU could be forgiven for thinking the sea has arrived in Punjab. There is salt everywhere. Red brick walls of small homes are coated with salt. Fields are layered with salt. There is salt in the water, lots of it. You can’t drink the stuff since it has deadly pollutants in it too. This is the pitiable state of Malsinghwala, a village in the Budhlada block of Mansa district in Punjab, the food bowl of India. In desperation villagers here have put up a board offering all of Malsinghwala’s 1,800 acres for sale. “The main problem in our village is of water, ” says Jasbeer Singh, Sarpanch, “since the last 15 years we hardly get any water from the canal. The tube-wells in our village yield groundwater which is contaminated up to 1,000 feet. We approached government officials and organised a meeting in our school building. They heard us and went away without bothering to look at our barren fields. The government cannot even give us water to drink. We thought a lot and then decided since our fields and us are utterly ruined we are prepared to sell our village.”
Says Baljeet Singh, resident of this village: “Earlier, when we had water, we had enough to eat. Now we are totally ruined and ready to leave the village.” Extreme anguish is forcing villagers in Punjab to sell their village. In January 2001, Harkishanpura, a village in Bhatinda district became the first to put itself up for sale. Since then five more villages are awaiting auction. This trend is catching on. In Maharashtra, Dorli village in Wardha district, put itself on the market in 2005. “Lack of food, water, loss of soil fertility, disease, death, huge debts, poverty and indifference of the concerned authorities are forcing villagers to put their native villages up for sale or auction, ”says Anil Rana of the Janhit Foundation. “Yet this even does not draw the government’s attention.” The Janhit Foundation has released an in depth study of Malsinghwala. Samples of the village’s water and soil were analysed by the People’s Science Institute in Dehradun. The report explains how Malsinghwala’s environment has been destroyed and its impact on residents.
Year after year, Malsinghwala faces crop failure and hence, financial ruin. The village is in debt to the tune of Rs.32,77,7000. On an average, each family has a debt of Rs.93916.9 on its head. Out of 1,800 acres of agricultural land, 800 lie barren covered with salt. There is no irrigation water. Soil is ruined because of pesticides. Salt, pesticides and heavy metals have wrecked the quality of groundwater. There is no fresh sweet water either. The main source of water, the Boha branch canal, which joins the Sirhind and Bhakra sub canals, is two km away. Villagers fetch water in trolleys or on bullock carts. Availability of canal water is erratic. A tank has been installed by the government in Bareh village, three kilometers from Malsinghwala. It supplies water once a week. An overhead tank provides water to only 80 out of 349 households. Few households have money to construct an underground tank and store water for a week. The village has 2,091 residents. The sex ratio is 735 females per thousand males. Nearly 45 per cent of the population consists of children below 18 years and elderly people above 60 years. The literacy rate is only 15 per cent as compared to the state’s average of 69.95 per cent. A striking feature is that the female literacy rate at 25 per cent is higher than that of the males which is 7 per cent.
The schools are only up to Class 8. If children want to study further, they have to travel 30 km to Mansa. Villagers are compelled to drink contaminated water and Malsinghwala has seen 25 deaths due to water borne diseases alone in past five years. Around 40 per cent of the young population suffers from cancer, joint pains, stomach problems and skin diseases. There are also dental, cardiac, neurological, skin and digestive disorders. Nearly 60 per cent of villagers are landless. So poverty stricken Malsinghwala can’t afford two square meals a day. Yet villagers are compelled to spend extravagantly on fetching water and fighting diseases. The average monthly expenditure on water and treatment of a six-member family is Rs 727 out of an income of Rs 2,367, which is 30 per cent of the income. According to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) the limit of Total Dissolved Solid in drinking water is 500 mg/litre. However the maximum permissible limits for salinity can go upto 1500mg/l (1.5g/kg) for drinking water and 2000mg/l (2g/kg) for irrigation water. But Malsinghwala samples show salinity levels more than 2000 mg/l. Villagers use this water for irrigation.
Groundwater salinity in this area is a natural phenomenon, due to inherent rock composition. Malsinghwala is in an arid zone. With extraction of groundwater through tubewells and hand pumps, the fresh water lenses have got depleted leaving only a poor quality saline water table. According to villagers here, most private hand pumps were drilled around 25 years ago when water depth was around 35 feet and the water extracted was of good quality. After 10 years the quality started declining. Currently you can get water at 45 feet, which is quite high but water is of bad quality. In fact, Budhlada block has been categorised as ‘over exploited’ in terms of fresh water by the Central Ground Water Board. Most of the water has been exploited for irrigation. The reason is the shift in cropping pattern. After the Green Revolution, villagers began cultivating water intensive crops like rice in Malsinghwala, a dry area. Fields are caked with salt crust. When the groundwater evaporates it leaves behind a layer of salt.
The sandy texture of the soil and arid conditions add to the capillary action of groundwater. Contamination worsens the quality of water further. High concentrations of POPs that have been found in soil and water sample tests are --BHC, Heptachlor Epoxide, Heptachlor, Aldrin, Dieldrin, and Endrin Aldehyde. Out of these, BHC, Aldrin, Dieldrin, Endrin and Heptachlor are banned. Other pesticides found include Fipronil, 2-4, D, Monocrotophos and Chloropyriphos. Chloride, lead and fluoride are also present in ground water in excess of limits set by Indian standards. These occurrences are largely due to the natural composition of minerals in rocks and soil of Malsinghwala. Lead concentration in Malsinghwala is 4.4 times more than the WHO and CPCB maximum permissible limits. Fluoride levels are on average, 4.65 times more than the specified desirable limit of 1.0 mg/l. Chlorine should be 250 mg/l but it is 22 per cent on an average more than the specified limit. Children here suffer from congenital problems, malnourishment and liver problems. There is fluorosis, which seriously affects calcium metabolism of the body. Ingestion of salt at a high percentage is also harmful. It affects the growth and functioning of cells adversely and often results in kidney damage, Central Nervous System disorder, disorder in cardio vascular system, irritations etc.
Long time exposure to high concentration of salt is even comparable to slow poisoning. The Janhit Foundation recommends that the state government identify the sources of POPs and get them removed. It should provide free education to children till Class 10 and open a high school in the village. A permanent health centre should be set up and alternative employment and soft loans be provided. The village should get linked to an overhead tank through pipelines to a safe source of groundwater. Each household should get a regular supply of drinking water. The Boha branch of the canal must have perennial water for irrigation. Janhit also recommends free medical aid, compensation and health camps for the village. The NGO wants a high powered committee of the Central Government with agricultural scientists and geologists to visit the village and do a detailed study of its soil condition. It should recommend how agriculture can be improved and salt resistant species grown. On its part, the Janhit Foundation will spread awareness about the condition of Malsinghwala. This unusual case of violation of human right to water would be sent to the Food First Information and Action Network (FIAN), Germany, an International Human Rights organisation. If need be Janhit Foundation would even file a PIL with the Hon’ble High Court of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh.
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