Health Minister JP Nadda on Friday informed the lok Sabha that over 1.17 crore people are at risk of fluorosis and efforts are on to ensure supply of safe drinking water in the affected areas to address the problem.
Rajasthan, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are among the most affected by fluorosis, which is caused by excess exposure to fluoride. lack of safe drinking water is a major reason for prevalence of the disease.
To address the problem, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is making efforts to ensure safe drinking water supply, especially in areas where incidence of fluorosis is high, he said. “There are 14,132 habitations affected with fluoride in excess of the permissible limits in 19 states/UTs as on April 1, 2014. The population at risk is about 117.7 lakh,” said Nadda.
The Government started the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Fluorosis (NPPCF) in 2008-09. In 2013-14, the Non-Communicable Disease programmes, including NPPCF were brought under National Rural Health Mission.
The latter has been renamed as National Health Mission, which has so far covered 111 districts. During Question Hour, Nadda said little over 4,000 habitats have been covered under the programme while the rest would be covered by 2017.