Groundwater in over 6,000 habitations in Raj contain fluoride

Jaipur, Dec 5 (PTI) Rajasthan has the highest number of habitations in India where the groundwater is contaminated by fluoride, a senior official said.Of the 13,492 habitations affected by fluoride in

Jaipur, Dec 5 (PTI) Rajasthan has the highest number of habitations in India where the groundwater is contaminated by fluoride, a senior official said.

Of the 13,492 habitations affected by fluoride in the country, Rajasthan has 6,695, Principal Secretary, Public Health Engineering and Ground Water Department, Rajat Kumar Mishra said.

This is a major problem in the state. The department is making efforts to provide safe drinking water to people in the affected area, he said.

The areas where the groundwater has high presence of fluoride include those in Jodhpur, Nagaur, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Bhilwara districts, he said.

Mishra also said that the situation of salinity in groundwater in the state was also as grim.

Of the 14,317 habitations in India affected by high salinity in groundwater, 12,800 or 89.40 per cent are in Rajasthan, the officer said.

The state also accounts for 57.72 per cent or 1,143 of the 1,980 habitations in the country where the groundwater contains high nitrate content, the prinicipal secretary said.

Mishra said that the state government was committed to deal with the issues.

Setting up 1,964 RO water purification plants, 970 solar water units and water conservation works under the Mukhyamantri Jal Swavlamban Yojna (MJSY) are steps forward to tackle the situation, he said.

This is published unedited from the PTI feed.