India - A deadly affliction that has almost immobilised them

Debilitating:Ramegowda C. Patil's painful limbs prevent him from working, forcing his daughter to leave school and earn the dailybread.
A deadly affliction that has almost immobilised them
Divya Gandhi
In Sogival village, the groundwater has a dangerous 4.84 ppm of fluoride
Two-thirds of the people suffer from skeletal deformity
Residents are unhappy that no help is forthcoming
A deadly affliction that has almost immobilised them
Divya Gandhi
In Sogival village, the groundwater has a dangerous 4.84 ppm of fluoride
Two-thirds of the people suffer from skeletal deformity
Residents are unhappy that no help is forthcoming

Sogival village (Gadag district): His gaunt frame propped by walking sticks, Ramegowda C. Patil looks far older than his 45 years. His painful limbs prevent him from working, and his six-acre farm has turned into a wasteland. His two older daughters have left school to work as agricultural labourers to earn for the family.
Skeletal fluorosis, a deadly affliction which has debilitated several adults, has also cast its shadow on the children of Sogival village, 60 km from Gadag town.
Irreversible
This irreversible condition is caused by excessive fluoride in drinking water. As the mineral collects in the skeleton over the years, it bends and stiffens the bones and immobilises the joints.
In Sogival, the groundwater, which is the only source of drinking water in the village, has a dangerous 4.84 ppm of fluoride (the acceptable limit is 1.5 ppm) due to a natural process of weathering of gneissic granite rocks, according to a recent analysis by Jagadish T. Gudagur, associate professor, Karnatak Science College, Dharwad.