NHRC team visits fluorosis-hit Garhwa
Times of India - September 28, 2011
GARHWA: A team of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday visited Manaha and Ghatihahi in Pratappur village of Garhwa district. The team members met people suffering from fluorosis and took stock of the situation.
Villagers handed over a memorandum to the visiting team and said as many as 15 persons have so far died of fluorosis. The villagers, mostly Dalits of Pratappur village, about 10 km from the district headquarters, have been suffering from fluorosis for the past several years following high fluoride levels in underground water.
Though the situation is alarming, the villages have been so far neglected by the district administration.
Although complete cure from fluorosis is not possible at this stage, children will remain unaffected by the disease, say visiting experts of the five-member NHRC team.
The five-member team was headed by Prof Dr ACK Sushila, executive director, Fluorosis Research and Rural Development Foundation (FRRDF). Other four were Dr N K Mandal, Dr G K Kharse, a senior scientist, Dr R D Chaudhary, deputy consultant in Union water resources and sanitation department and Dr Rajesh Srivastava, public security advisor.
"The team conducted an extensive study of the affected villages and found the situation to be alarming. A large number of villagers, including men, women and children, were found crippled," said the NHRC team leader Dr Sushila. She assured the villagers that a fluorosis detection centre will be opened soon in Garhwa.
SOURCE:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 154125.cms