India - Still no safe water for fluoride-affected villagers

Still no safe water for fluoride-affected villagers
Sabyasachi Roy
NALHATI, May 17: The fluoride-affected people of Nashipur village under the Nalhati-I block in Birbhum are slowly dying.
Although the government has made many assurances, people are not provided with the necessary treatments and safe water. Even the CPI-M led previous board of Baoutia panchayat failed to give hope to the affected people. For 16 years many villagers have been suffering from ailments such as tooth decay, limb deformities, skin diseases, nervous breakdowns and bending of the spinal chord. Fluoride-victims Partha Let, Susanta Let and Durga Das said they have already spent a lot of money for treatment The doctors who failed to prescribe proper medication said the diseases occurred due to water pollution.
In 1997, following the reports published in newspapers, the state government became aware of the situation and a team of doctors was sent to the village to examine the water. The team collected water samples from many sources and they reported the water layer of that area contains fluoride.