Ganga Cha Yamuna Chaiva Godavari Saraswati, Narmada Sindhu Kaveri Jalesmin Sannidhim Kuru"
Through this Vedic hymn we request our divine rivers to purify their waters for all human kind and quench our thirst.
But today, when we are in the 21st century, the big question is, are these divine rivers pure enough to serve life? This often drives me to another question: what kind of Earth are we leaving for our future generations? We are leaving an utterly depleted Earth with hardly any fresh air to breathe and pure water to drink.
If air-pollution is threatening our lives, water contamination is turning out to be another issue demanding immediate attention. Incessant industrial sewage flowing into our water bodies is turning them into rivers and wells of poison.
Not only are humans endangered, animals in water also face extinction. Excessive pollution has resulted in slow climate shifts.
Another major threat that has been very recently discovered is the poisoning of the underground water. It has turned out to be a pollutant that is a grave threat for humans. Unorganised use of the ground water has exposed the ground water to arsenic. This arsenic content, when it enters our system, results in the slow degradation of our organs, finally culminating in multiple organ failure and death.
What is arsenic, which contaminates the underground water?
When water flows through arsenic-rich rocks, it gets contaminated with arsenic. Through the continents wherever arsenic-content water flows, people have been found affected with serious diseases. There are numerous sources of arsenic, Earth’s crust being the primary source. In water, arsenic is introduced by the dissolution of minerals and by soil erosion. Industrial sewage is also a major contributor in the making of arsenic in water.
Some of the states majorly hit by arsenic
India has been hit quite hard by this new threat. In Murshidabad (West Bengal) it took 20 years to realize that the water was highly contaminated with arsenic. But by then it was just too late. It had poisoned the lives of hundreds of families; arsenic poisoning starts with skin blotches and ends with damage of internal organs. According to reports "about 70% of the people in the district do not have access to clean and safe drinking water as the region is affected by arsenic contamination and almost 19 of the 26 blocks in the district have arsenic contamination in ground water.”
28 districts in Uttar Pradesh and 15 in Bihar have crossed the exceeding limit. They could just turn out to be the next Murshidabad if nothing is done on time. "Arsenic in ground water exceeding prescribed limit of 10 parts per billion (ppb) has been reported from some parts of 28 districts of Uttar Pradesh and 15 districts of Bihar," Union Minister of State for Water Resources Vincent H Pala stated in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.
As per report of Uttar Pradesh 'Jal Nigam', a survey of arsenic contamination of ground water in 51 districts of the state carried out with the assistance of UNICEF has revealed that some parts of 28 out of 51 districts in the state have been affected by arsenic contamination, Pala stated.
Mass awareness campaigns are being organised in arsenic affected villages to raise level of awareness about the problem of arsenic contamination.
Swine Flu spreads faster in arsenic exposed people
A recent report has stated that H1N1 virus spreads with more rapidity between people who are exposed to arsenic. The virus tends to act very severely. An experiment on mice showed that people drinking arsenic water were much more susceptible to death by H1N1 virus.
The World Health Organization says more than 50 million people are still drinking poisoned water whereas our earth covered around 2/3rd with water. We have abundance of water on our planet, but not the right stuff. It is the biggest demand of the time that we let nature get back in shape and the entire life on earth can be blessed with the pure drops of Mother Nature.....the monsoon.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Poison in my Glass?
Mass awareness campaigns are being organised in arsenic affected villages to raise level of awareness about the problem of arsenic contamination.
Monday, June 29, 2009
After herbal Viagra, now herbal Drinking water
After the successful launch of 'Laboob Sager', the herbal Viagra, a state-owned corporation of Tamil Nadu government would soon launch yet another health product - herbal drinking water, claimed to be first of its kind in the country.
It contained herbal extracts with useful bio-active properties that play a major role in maintaining good health as evidenced by Siddha and Ayurveda literatures and modern scientific studies, Tamil Nadu Medicinal Plant Farms and Herbal Medicines Corporation Ltd. (TAMPCOL) officials said.
The herbal water, to be sold in 1,000 ml and 500 ml pet bottles and competitively priced in the growing mineral water market, was likely to be launched in the next two months, company Chairman and managing director GA Rajkumar said.
TAMPCOL was in the final process of getting the ISI certificate and other related licences, he said.
The company had recently launched 'Laboob Sager', herbal aphrodisiac using an ancient 'Sastric' Unani formulation, billing the drug as substitute for the costly Viagra with "no side effects" and it become a runaway hit with good demand.
Rajkumar said the herbal extracts that would be added with the water include 'tulsi' (holy basil), 'nannari' (Indian sarasaparilla) and 'Adhimadhuram' (licorice).
"Volatile active properties from these herbal extracts are obtained by steam distillation process and are mixed with the drinking water in suitable proportions," Rajkumar said.
Rajkumar said packaged water companies were offering only pure drinking water. "These do not contain any health promoting substances. Our herbal water, certified by state Drug Licence Authority, will have elements that are good for health," he claimed.
Explaining about the elements, he said 'Nanari' herb mixed in this water was widely used by the people in 'sorbet' (sweet drink) for quenching thirst and for cooling effect and 'tulsi' was commonly used for better health.
He said the licorice with sweet taste and pleasant aroma contain many active principles and were widely used in many Indian system of medicines.
Quoting some research findings, he said it had been established that all the three herbal extracts were good sources of antioxidants which were helpful in fighting aging, cancer, renal diseases among others, he said.
"Regular consumption of the herbal water may help our body to get the benefit of antioxidants present in the water," he claimed.
TAMPCOL marketing manager G Ramanathan said the company would produce one lakh bottles of herbal water to start with. Initially, it would be marketed in Southern states. "We will be setting up another manufacturing unit, which would cater to the needs of the North Indian market," he added.
