Groundwater table falls by 2.5 m in State

Groundwater table falls by 2.5 m in State


http://www.hindu.com/2010/07/13/stories/2010071354010400.htm

Groundwater table falls by 2.5 m in State

Special Correspondent

‘Two schemes being implemented to recharge table by harvesting rainwater'

HYDERABAD: Groundwater table in the State fell by 2.5 metres on an average in two years from May 2008 to May 2010. Replying to a question tabled by P. Srinivas Reddy (TDP) in Assembly on Monday, Minor Irrigation Minister V. Sunitha Laxma Reddy quoted an analysis report of the Groundwater Department that water levels in the State fell by 2.18 metres from 2000 to 2005 but rose by 4.89 metres thereafter up to 2008.

Two schemes costing Rs.629 crore and Rs. 40 crore, respectively, were being implemented to recharge the groundwater table by harvesting rainwater. The department was offering technical guidance besides selecting sites for construction of artificial recharge structures as and when cases were referred to it.

National status

Over 30 lakh agricultural pumpsets depended on groundwater to provide water to about 90 lakh acres, an ayacut equal to the entire extent covered by irrigation projects. In a written reply, Major Irrigation Minister P. Lakshmaiah told M. Venkateswara Rao (TDP) that proposals had been submitted to the Union Government to accord national status to seven projects in the State and provide funds accordingly for their execution.

They were Polavaram (cost Rs 10,151 crore), 

                  Devadula (Rs 8,986 crore),

                  Pranahita-Chevella (Rs 38,500 crore), 

                  Yellampalli (Rs 3,177 crore), 

                  Kanthanapalli (Rs 10,409 crore), 

                  Dummagudem (Rs 19,521 crore) 

                 and Uttarandhra Sujala Sravanti (Rs 7,214 crore).

Patancheru, Andhra Pradesh

http://www.greenpeace.org/india/campaigns/toxics-free-future/toxic-hotspots/patancheru-andhra-pradesh

40 years ago, Patancheru, in the Medak district of Andhra Pradesh, and the area surrounding it, was verdant agricultural land, famous for its sparkling lakes ("cheruvus" in Telugu) and streams. Farming, livestock rearing and fishing were the main occupations. One can imagine cattle grazing on the commons, abundant green paddy stalks waving in the wind, children playing and swimming in the lakes. Little did Patancheru know that looming over it, was the national planning process and its increasing emphasis on industrialisation of backward areas, in the name of employment generation.

The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation was formed in 1973. In the two decades from 1975 to 1995, the Andhra Pradesh government created six industrial estates in a 36 mile radius from Hyderabad. Agricultural land was procured at throwaway prices, and several industries began to mushroom in the area, many of them NRI investments.

The largest was a 440 hectare estate in Patancheru. Some of the biggest bulk drugs and pharmaceutical industries in Andhra Pradesh are located in this area.

Fast Fowarding to the Present:

However the planning and operation of Industrial Estates did not take into consideration, their effect on the environment. There were few or no mechanisms for the safe treatment and release of effluents and wastes. Typically in India, Industrial Estates have been responsible for transforming areas into toxic hotspots. Patancheru is a classic illustration of this phenomenon.

Recently the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in consultation with State Pollution Control Boards, has identified 22 critically polluted areas in the country in need of urgent attention for control of pollution. Patancheru is one of them.

Poisoned Waters:

Today the once-clear lakes of Patancheru are in various toxic colours, one is virulent red, another a poisonous green and so on. The Nakkavagu stream, that flows through the industrial estate in Patancheru has borne the brunt of the waste disposal of over 100 industries. The paint, plastic, chemical and bulk drug industries on the estate routinely dump their waste into the stream. Pollution to this stream has destroyed approximately 2000 acres of farmland besides contaminating the ground water system. The river is also a paleo-channel, which means it transports its contaminated water to large distances invisibly undergound. Open wells, dug wells and tanks have become useless and redundant. The heavy metal concentrations in the water have increased 5 to 20 times the permissible limits. The ground water is no longer potable.

Small village tanks are the primary source of irrigation in this district. These are used mostly for irrigation and drinking purposes. They also help in recharging the groundwater, thus maintaining the groundwater table and sustaining wells for livelihood. Predominantly people are dependent on agriculture, the very survival of the population here is dependent on the village tanks. Due to discharge of unregulated industrial effluents, the water quality of many of these tanks is degraded and loaded with toxic chemicals, resulting in acidification, increase in total dissolved solids, decrease in dissolved oxygen and decrease in biological diversity. These tanks have been converted into toxic ponds. Many sensitive aquatic species have been affected, resulting in a significant reduction in bio-diversity in these water bodies

In addition to the pollution of moving water resources, infiltration from wastes dumped on the ground and seepage into the water table in some places, has caused the ground water to become a cocktail of toxins, unfit for any use. The National Geological Research Institute (NGRI) conducted a study and found arsenic in abnormally high quantities, close to around 700 times above permissible levels! The chemicals seem to be moving both vertically into the ground water and flowing horizontally along the underground water table.

The toxins include heavy metals like selenium, boron, chromium, nickel, lead, arsenic, and cadmium. They also include organochlorines, organophosphates, hydrogen sulphide, particulate matter (primarily wood and iron), chlorine and other bulk intermediaries.

Poisoned Soils and the End of Agriculture:

The soil, even according to the AP Pollution Control Board, has been polluted in large parts of the region as far back as 1980, by persistent organic pollutants, hazardous wastes, and a host of organic and inorganic chemicals discharged into the surrounding lakes. The overflows from these lakes during rainy season, have spread the toxins over an even greater area.

Before the pollution of the streams and rivers, villagers irrigated their agricultural lands from these sources. They continued to do so unknowingly, even after these water sources were polluted to alarming levels. This resulted in deposition of heavy metals in the soil. Once they realised that their crops were getting damaged, they tried to tap the groundwater. However this too had high levels of heavy metals.

Air and groundwater pollution have had a direct impact on crop yield and the food cycle. High total dissolved solids and chemical intermediates have degraded the soil. Yields have suffered due to the increase in salinity, loss of living structure of the soil complex and change in the physical and chemical properties of the soil. Soil pollution with heavy metals and other toxins has extended into the food chain and has caused irreparable damage to human health. Yields have significantly decreased in terms of quantity as well as quality. Results of socio-economic studies reveal drastic deterioration of economy and health.

Some of the locals have given up agriculture and have taken to sand mining and brick making. This has increased the concentrations of heavy metals and total dissolved solids in the groundwater even further, sending the situation into a downward spiral.

Air Pollution:

Smoke stacks and chimneys release toxic fumes into the once clean air. The industries principally responsible for air pollution are pesticide units, bulk drug industries, particleboard industries, steel rolling industries, common effluent treatment plants & distilleries. The primary pollutants that have been identified in the air include mercaptans, particulate matter, chlorine and other bulk intermediaries, and hydrogen sulphide.

Poisoned Lives:

It is no surprise that the deadly bio-accumulative chemicals in the environment, are damaging the health of all living things in the locality. Villagers say that the decolourisation and even peeling of the skin of buffaloes is a common feature. In an article in the Sunday Chronicle, another villager is quoted as saying, “Trees like tamarind, neem and banyan are wilting and there is no greenery for the past five years”. Even as far back as in 1990, the then Union Minister of State for Planning Mr. Bhage Govardhan told press persons that the people around Patancheru were suffering from a variety of mysterious diseases caused by water and air pollution.

A cross- section of journals and newspapers have written about various ailments that have been reported in this area, due to exposure to pollutants. Dr Ravinder Reddy states “Ailments like asthma, drowsiness, gastroenteritis, bronchitis and other pulmonary disorders and burning sensations in the eyes are common and are on the rise and the patients are not responding to the normal course of medication”

We know that mercaptans, found in the air cause nasal nerve damage. Pesticides like organophosphorous compounds are absorbed through the skin and lungs. These reduce the acetylcholine enzyme in the blood, which can be fatal. This ties in with a disturbing trend in Patancheru of sudden unexplained deaths. Skin diseases and respiratory disorders like bronchitis and bronchial asthama, convulsions and brain tumors have been reported here. Hydrogen sulphide, another common pollutant here, causes pneumonitis. Increasing incidence of cancer, leukemia in young children, lung cancers amongst non-smokers and liver cancers amongst non-alchoholics have been reported. Indiscriminate dumping of heavy metals and pesticides (both organochlorines as well as organophosphates) has resulted in heavy metal poisoning.

A study conducted by the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology found that people residing in the contaminated areas of Patancheru are exposed to high levels of arsenic pollution. Elevated levels of arsenic were found in the blood, urine, hair and nail of the sample population. This was clearly a result of consumption of industrially contaminated waters and vegetables grown in the poisoned soils.

The Health officer of Patancheru conducted a health survey in 2002, the findings of which were handed over to the District Medical Officer of Medak district. The accompanying letter said, “I am to inform you that due to industrial effluents in the Patancheru Industrial area, 14 villages are affected with chemical pollution. ” The report finds that the morbidity rates in the area have increased from of 10.18% to 25.49% over a period of 10 years, with women more affected than men in all types of diseases. Many people suffer from orthopedic and skin problems. The report also stated that inadequate and irregular water supply of drinking water to the 14 villages predisposed them to the hazards of water pollution.

To cap it all even the former Supreme Court Judge Justice Kuldeep Singh has said that Medak is becoming the most polluted district in the country.

More death not more work :

It is ironical that the industrial estates were set up here to develop the place and generate more employment for the local people. An article in the Indian Express states, “While the 250 odd industries set up in Patancheru created about 25,000 jobs, it resulted in the displacement of more than 30,000 people due to ground water pollution. Hundreds of farmers have become improvised and are forced to work as casual laborers in the industries.”

The Greenpeace Campaign

Our campaign in Patancheru is only a few months old. We have joined hands with the local communities and organisations and concerned citizens who have been fighting for justice through the legal process for the last 20 years. We are gathering scientific evidence through environmental sampling. Our health survey of the region has just been completed. We have contributed with creative and innovative actions and protests. We have also evolved a Citizen’s Right to Know kit, to inform people about the legal framework that applies to issues of the environment, and to empower them with tools and means to engage with the government and with businesses.

Recent Campaign Milestones

In June this year, we undertook a series of actions in Patancheru. A water monitoring kit was presented to the people of Patancheru. VJ Jose, the Greenpeace Riverkeeper from Eloor, Kerala, sampled and analyzed the lakes at Kazipally and Gandigudam along with community representatives. Jose says, “ Over the last 2 years I have been monitoring the water quality of the Periyar. Along with the community we have succeeded in getting the State Government of Kerala to institute a Periyar Action Plan Committee, which would look at current industrial practices and set stage a shift to clean production. Likewise at Patancheru, we are confident that the communities use of science would provide impetus to every citizen’s right to know and their will to act.”

Along side, we also released our Citizen’s Right to Know kit in Hyderabad. We hope that this document will provide communities with the tools and means to empower themselves to safeguard their environment and their future

Our direct action team also erected a notice board outside the factory site of Aurobindo Pharma Limited, Pashamahilaram, providing space for this Red Category industry to fill in detailed information about the hazardous materials used in their processes. This action was intended to remind Aurobindo Pharma and other industries dealing with toxic chemicals, of their obligations under the Supreme Court directive to keep the community informed about the hazardous aspects of their industrial activities. The October 14th 2003 Supreme Court order instructs all industrial units to inform the public at large about all hazardous chemicals used as raw materials, stored on site, used in their production processes or present in emissions.

This landmark judgements strengthens communities right to know and impact what happens in their localities. Aurobindo Pharma, has filled in the notice board. People in Patancheru hope to put pressure on other industries to also comply with the SC ruling.