larka, a non-descript village of Nuapada district, is haunted by a silent killer: fluorosis. Almost half of the village is already affected with the dreaded disease, but there is no respite. Most premature death cases in the remote village are attributed to the ailment.
The source of the disease is drinking water collected from tube wells. According to a study conducted a decade ago by an NGO, seven out of 14 tube wells in the village have more than 1.00 ppm fluoride content and three of them have more than 2 ppm.
Officials of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) Department also confirm this. “The ground water in this village below 30 feet contains high level of fluoride. Thus, we had to discard our proposal of digging a deep bore well for water supply in the village,” said an official of the RWSS.
When the permissible fluoride limit, as per WHO and BIS guideline, is 1 ppm in drinking water, the situation in the village is obviously threatening. “All the tube wells in the village were marked with red lines 10 years ago but were coloured green again when the villagers demanded provision of alternative drinking water source,” said the villagers.
“The officials told us that the fluoride was manageable and you see how we are managing,” said Janha Sabar, a 50- year-old woman with bend waist indicating towards 10 other women of the village with bend waists, who cannot walk without sticks.
“The tube well in the Khetri Pada is highly contaminated with fluoride. Thus most of the people of the hamlet have bend waists and disfigured teeth,” said Radheshyam Sabar of the village.
Ward Member Mithula Rout’s daughters Banita and Kabita studying in Class VII and V show their disfigured teeth and said, “All our friends in the school have been affected like this.”
Radheshyam Kheti of Khetipada hamlet died of fluorosis 15 days ago. He was only 33-years-old and was bedridden for more than three months before his death. The village has witnessed four more deaths in last one year, excluding Radheshyam, all of whom were in their mid forties.
“Two more are waiting to die since they are bedridden,” said the Ward Member. She drags this reporter to the house of Antaryami Hati who is about 40-year-old. Hati has swollen joints and disfigured teeth, who looks like a diseased old man. He is in the bed for more than one and a half months.
Netra Ada (35) is also unable to move. He tries to get up with the help of a stick, but sits again due to severe pain in the joints. “The Government should make provision to fetch drinking water for the villagers from Sundar river, located at a distance of 15 km,” the villagers demand.
larka is not the only village affected with fluoride problem in Nuapada district. The Government report reveals that 387 other such villages out of total 644 villages of Nuapada – almost 60 per cent — are partially or fully affected with fluoride. Out of 6,153 tube wells in the district 1,752 tube wells located in 906 habitations of the district are not usable due to more than 2.00 ppm fluoride content.
But, as there is no option available, the villagers are forced to depend upon these sources. About 50,000 people have been affected by fluoride in the district.