Gujarat villagers learn to live with dirty water, disease

Gujarat villagers learn to live with dirty water, disease
JIGNESH VASAVADA

AHMEDABAD, NOV 12: When villagers living along the GIDC-Vatva industrial belt switch on their tubewells, what flows out is not exactly the elixir of life. Out gushes a light red-coloured, polluted liquid that passes off as water in this area.

People in these villages -- Chosar, Gamdi, Ropar, Mahij, Umiyapur, Bidaj, Bhuderpur and Laali -- have got used to living with polluted water. And what follows with it: skin infections, other disorders, and a land slowly losing fertility.

Chemical industries in the belt release deadly effluents into the Khari canal. The chemicals then make their way to the groundwater, polluting it. According to sources, pollutants have seeped down to almost 500 m. But despite the problem having existed for the past 25 years, more than 50 borewells still keep giving coloured water.

Residents of the area have sent repeated reminders to the authorities, but no action has been taken. Certain government schemes offer compensation to afflicted villagers, but most haven't received it.

``Initially, when we started getting coloured water, we sent samples to the Water Department of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), and they certified it `fit for consumption'. This continued for about five years,'' says Suryakant Patel, sarpanch of Gamdi village. ``Then our pumpsets started getting jammed and pipes started corroding, forcing us to dig beyond 500 m,'' he adds.

The villagers contest the AMC officials' version that it is the seepage of treated effluents which is polluting groundwater. They allege that many textile and chemical units are pumping effluents directly into the ground at great depths.

No official was willing to comment on the issue. All of them -- from the AMC to the state government and Pollution Control Board officials -- kept passing the buck. MLA Vijay Patel and MP Shankersinh Vaghela were not available for comment.

The villagers long ago stopped drinking this water, but still use it for other household purposes and irrigation. ``We have developed skin diseases and numerous other disorders. Our cattle have died after drinking this contaminated water,'' says Hiraben of Chosar village.

Villagers are banking on a Gujarat High Court order asking the government to lay a pipeline that will take the effluents directly to the Pirana treatment plant, without polluting the canal. Work on the pipeline is under way, and officials say it would be ready by December 31.

Forests and Environment Minister Kanjibhai Patel admitted that there was a problem. ``I sympathise with the villagers and know that there is a problem. But hopefully, once this pipeline is laid, the problem will be solved,'' he adds.

However, the villagers remain sceptical. The initial deadline of the pipeline was June, but it had to be extended because work was slow. ``We have made numerous representations to the authorities, but nobody seems to listen,'' says a Gamdi villager.

``We have heard of compensation being offered to bigger villages like Jetalpur and Bareja, which are about 5 km from our village. Schools have been built and other amenities provided, but we do not even have a proper dispensary, while this water is causing disease,'' complains Rameshbhai of Gamdi village.

A majority of the pumps are located in the fields, which is dangerous for the crops. ``Our land loses its fertility and, over a period of time, the crop goes waste,'' complains Suryakant.

With the government too slow to react, Jethabhai, an old farmer, is losing hope. ``We have lived through this for long and will die soon,'' he says. ``We only hope that things improve before our children take over.''