Polluted groundwater leaves nearly 50 blind without any medical help at hand for 'poisoned' villagers



They were dealt a harsh blow by fate that left them either completely blind or with a severely diminished vision, all thanks to groundwater allegedly contaminated by industrial waste.

But that's still not the end of woes for residents of about a dozen villages in Punjab, located on the India-Pakistan border, who have been left to their own devices without any promise of medical care by an apathetic administration.



Villagers say that while a water filtration plant, based on the reverse osmosis (RO) technique, has been set up at Dona Nanka village with another in the works at another, there's no such effort in close to 10 other villages.



A warning put up by the government warns villagers against consuming water drawn from the handpump

However, what the residents are most concerned about is the lack of initiative to treat people who have already suffered on account of the polluted water.

All of 24, Shankar Singh of Dona Nanka says his vision gradually weakened over his growing-up years before he completely lost his eyesight a decade ago.



His bother Visakha seems to be headed down a similar path as his eyesight is already on the decline. In the neighbouring hamlets of Teja Ruhela and Noor Shah, scores of children are going blind in a similar manner. Residents peg the total number of victims at 50, including children and adults.



Mohinder Singh, a resident of Dona Nanka, reiterates the role of polluted groundwater and demonstrates an experiment to back his stance.



If one poured water drawn from a handpump into a glass, they would see how it turned yellowishbrown in 20 minutes. He says the government had promised another filtration plant in the village.



Neeraj Atri, chairman of the NGO Active Voice, pointed out that the villages concerned were situated near a drain, called Chand Bhan, which carries industrial waste and untreated toxins to the villages.

Neeraj said the toxins and pollutants in the water could be the reason behind the villagers' ailments, which include water-borne diseases and pre-natal deformity in children.



The authorities admit the groundwater in the area is unfit for human or animal consumption and say they have been making persistent efforts to warn residents against consuming it.



Additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Fazilka, Charandev Singh Mann, says the government was also trying to provide residents proper medical facilities.



"I will ensure that special medical teams are sent to the villages to administer proper treatment to them," he said.



