Southern States - Karnataka   

People of this village suffer in silence

By Raviprasad Kamila

CHITRADURGA MARCH 24. At least two persons in each house at Toparamalige village, about 10 km. from here, complain of joint pain. Some men and women aged above 50 are not able to walk properly. A few of the aged are bedridden. The colour of the teeth of youngsters is turning yellowish and their gums are swollen. The villagers attribute these problems to the excess fluoride content in water they have been drinking over the years.

Those aged above 30 say that they need at least an hour to relax and feel comfortable after getting up in the morning due to joint pain and backache.

Pointing at a dried up well, an old man says that nearly 20 years ago, "we used to draw water from it. In those days, we faced no problems. The well dried up after people started drilling borewells in the village. As a result, the groundwater level depleted to 400 ft. Constant use of fluoride mixed water from borewells has affected the health of many people in the village."

Toparamalige has 150 houses with a population of 1,500. Ramachandra Setty, Devappa, Anusuyamma, and Puttamma are bedridden and some use walking sticks as they have problems with their knees. Villagers say that 12 years ago, Anantappa (40) was a healthy man. Unable to stretch his legs, he now crawls. They attribute it to the consumption of fluoride mixed water.

Thimma Reddy says that he has spent nearly Rs. 30,000 in the past three months on treatment in Davangere and Bangalore.

The treatment has not helped him. He is unable to stand for long.

Similar is the case with Puttaranga Setty. Papakka, and Sunandamma, in late thirties, cannot stand up and walk without the help of sticks. Though, they are aware that they too will face such problems in the future, children continue to drink fluoride mixed water from borewells as they have no alternative water source in the village.

The fluoride problem is not restricted to Toparamalige alone in Chitradurga District. Kallalli, Kasavanahalli, Eennegere, and Tamatakal are among the villages where fluoride content in drinking water is high. People of some villages use painkiller tablets for relief.

According to a survey conducted in 2001, drinking water in 135 villages of the district has excess fluoride.

The fluoride proportion is more than 1.5 parts per million (PPM).

Forty-five such villages are in Challakere taluk, 30 each in Chitradurga and Hiriyur taluks, 13 in Holalkere taluk, 11 in Molakalmuru taluk, and six in Hosadurga taluk.

M.G. Prasad, District Health and Family Welfare Officer, says that constant use of fluoride mixed water (for more than six years) will cause dental flurosis among children. The colour of the teeth turns yellow and it leads to swelling of gums.

In the later stage, it will lead to "skeletal flurosis" where bones become fragile or hollow, he adds.

Meanwhile, some residents of Vidya Nagar in Chitradurga are using "aqua cure" machines (each costs about Rs. 17,000) to purify water.

The machine purifies 10 litres of water in an hour, according to a resident.

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