And the danger signs are appearing ever more rapidly among potentially the most significant section of the population: Babies.

In 40-odd villages to the north of Vadodara, an increasing number of babies has been diagnosed as suffering from ratwa, the `blue-baby' syndrome named after the `dark-as-night' complexion the child assumes before it dies.

Ratwa, too, is a very common noun, and can be broken up into various categories. Some babies die due to gomda ratwa, repeated boils on the body; others of kalo ratwa where the child's body turns black after birth; yet others of Jamburiya ratwa in which the child's complexion turns dark purple; there is also godiyo ratwa where large boils develop on a grown boy and, finally, gadtoo ratwa, when six-month-old babies lose weight before dying.

Take the example of Rajesh Patel's daughter. She was born in Rania village with defects; she never seemed to grow, remained pale and could not breathe properly. Her entire body would turn purple the moment she cried. She didn't last long, dying even before she was baptised.

In nearby Dashrath village, Jitubhai Patel's daughter died similarly, changing colours through her eight-month-old life.

Technically, the blue baby syndrome occurs after the mixing of venous and arterial blood due to defects in the heart, explains Dr K K Shah, who practices in Bajwa, one of the affected villages. This may happen, he adds, because of the use of water or baby food containing nitrate contents.

If it were only ratwa, that would be a blessing; a survey by the Vadodara-based Deepak Medical Foundation last year found that other major causes of child death in these villages were heart disease, respiratory ailments, low birth weight, premature delivery, skin infections, fevers and measles.

The study, `Reproductive and Child Health Status in the Nandesari area', which surveyed nearly 800 married women in 10 villages found 80 per cent of them anaemic and below 40 kg weight with hemoglobin leaves abysmally low at less than 10.8 gm.

Well-known Vadodara physician Dr Arun Phatak said 72 children died of respiratory and digestive problems last year at the trust-run K G Patel Children's Hospital; the previous year's figure was 92. Most of these cases, he adds, came from around Vadodara.

Experts admit that it is virtually impossible to correlate these deaths with any specific toxic chemical or effluent, but point to the vast array of such elements being discharged into the Mahi and Mini rivers, on public roads, on highways and, more recently, through tubewells into the ground.

A survey of tubewells conducted by Express Newsline earlier this year in at least 18 villages near industrial complexes showed that most had been rendered useless. Also, emission of noxious gases, metals and effluents over the years have turned fertile lands barren. Ground water has been contaminated in various villages in Nandesari, Koyali, Angadh, Jaspur, Sindhrot and many others.

With cultivable water getting scarce because of increasing salinity, the farmers have been left with little alternative but to breach the effluent channels and use effluents. An M S University study by a current government employee warns that vegetables and grains grown from such water contains a risk of toxic chemicals entering human system in the city as well.

The last link of this dangerous chain is the sheer inactivity on part of the government to deal with the situation effectively. The result: More blue babies, another blow to the next generation.