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New Delhi : Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation on March 7, 2017, Uma Bharti underlined the need to make people aware of negative impact of Arsenic in Ganga basin area. Addressing a workshop on Arsenic problem in groundwater and its remediation in Ganga Basin organized by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) in New Delhi, the Minister said that her Ministry will prepare an exhaustive work plan to meet the challenges posed by presence of arsenic in ground water on the basis of the outcome of this workshop.
Uma Bharti said there is an urgent need to start a nationwide movement to make people aware of the arsenic problem. She said everyone right from an individual to government and social organizations have to join hand to make this movement a success. She said tapping alternate safe aquifers,for supply of arsenic free groundwater has been explored in many areas on a local scale. However, this approach would require extensive studies and analysis for mapping of groundwater availability and freshwater reserves., according to a PIB release.
She said, “Under the National Aquifer mapping programme (NAQUIM) of CGWB special attention has been given to this aspect and water wells have been constructed tapping arsenic free aquifers using state of the art technology in parts of Ballia and Ghazipur districts of Uttar Pradesh.” She said the growing arsenic occurrences demands a systematic translation of success stories of one place/region to another and formulating a comprehensive plan to mitigate the arsenic problem through a wider consultation process. The day long workshop was attended by about 300 experts including eminent scientists from all over the country.