The people of Hassan have been consuming drinking water that has high concentration of fluoride, nitrate and other chemicals that can cause serious health problems. The latest chemical analysis of water samples collected in rural areas of the district have revealed that 48 habitations in Arsikere taluk and five in Holenarsipur have high fluoride content.

The permissible fluoride content is 1 to 1.5 mg in a litre of water. However, in many villages, the fluoride content in water is 3.42 mg a litre. The latest study conducted over a period of six months in the 2014-15 fiscal has revealed that the water in parts of Holenarsipur taluk also has high concentration of fluoride, which was unheard of in the past.

Impact

High fluoride content in drinking water affects teeth and bones. Hundreds of people and children have been suffering from bone-related problems in Arsikere taluk. The Hassan Zilla Panchayat has installed water purification systems in many villages and water-filters in schools.

In recent years, owing to excess use of chemical fertilisers, the nitrate level has gone up in several parts of the district. The analysis shows that the nitrate level is more than the permissible limit of 45mg a litre in 17 habitations of the district. The high nitrate level in water can cause serious health problems. Particularly among infants, it can cause blue-baby syndrome. Similarly, pH value is found to be more than the agreeable limit in over 60 habitations in the district. The high pH value can cause irritation in skin, eyes and mucous membranes.

Nanjunda Sharma, geologist in the Hassan Zilla Panchayat, said that borewells or handpumps — sources of samples — where contamination was found would be marked red so that people could abstain from drawing waster from them for drinking purposes. “Besides, we are installing purification systems in habitations with over 500 population. We have installed the system in many places and it will be installed in 14 more places in the current fiscal,” he said.

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