INDIA: People In Bhoktauri Village Of Gaya Have Grappled With Fluorosis For More Than 20 Years, Await Relief

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People In Bhoktauri Village Of Gaya Have Grappled With Fluorosis For More Than 20 Years, Await Relief
The villagers have been waiting for a saviour to address their problem so that there is relief for their children.

ETV Bharat English Team - December 7, 2025

Gaya: Twenty-six-year-old Ramdhar Singh Bhokta wanted to become a Police officer in Bihar. But his dreams were shattered when he could not clear the physical ability test. In fact, he could not even enroll as a Home Guard on account of his short height.

He is not the only one in his village facing this problem. Majority of the villagers from Bhoktauri in Tilaiya Panchayat of Banke Bazar block in Gaya district are below five feet with stunted limbs as they suffer from fluorosis.

“Most of the youth are in poor health. Some have crooked arms and others walk crookedly. This is due to the water we drink here," said Bhokta.

Bhoktauri village is around 90 km from the district headquarters and has approximately 200 households. It was founded by Sohrai Singh Bhokta and others.

The villagers said that around 1995, the residents began experiencing physical difficulties. After 2005, young people started aging early.

They related that the people here are unable to find jobs of their choice or get married. The village has 12 matriculates and five graduates. The people here rely on farming and manual labour. Those afflicted with dwarfism work in private shops, while 16 disabled youth are working as security guards in other states.

Even those coming from outside to reside here fall prey to illness. Savitri Devi married Ranjay Chaudhary and came here from Jharkhand eight years ago as a perfectly healthy woman. Now she walks crookedly as her feet have changed shape. She looks like an old woman.

"Me and my family had no idea that the village was in such a condition. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten married here. This was written in my fate. Now I can't even lift my legs. I have a child who is also in a similar condition. I am getting him treated," Savitri said.

62-year-old Sita Devi in the village is disabled along with two sons and a daughter. She survives on a disability pension.

"I could marry off my daughter with great difficulty after selling my one kattha of land. She is married into a poor family in a village in the forest area of ​​Dumaria block," she said.

Another resident of the village, 60-year-old Satya Devi (60), said that there is no clean drinking water and some children receive disability pension, while the majority of the people do not.

There are several families living under such conditions. Sarjan Chaudhary's household includes four people with disabilities, while Sukhdev Chaudhary's household has five disabled people, including his wife and children.

One of the residents, Ashok Kumar, explained that he became disabled at the age of seven. Both his legs have become crooked with bones protruding out. He cannot run quickly. His elder brother takes care of the household.

"I could study only up to Class 8 since the school is far from the village. My elder brother, Santosh Kumar, is a graduate. Due to poor financial conditions, my elder brother works in a hotel in Banke Bazaar. There are three disabled people in my family. Water has ruined my entire life," he said.

Sikandar Bhokta became disabled at the age of five. He shared, "It feels as if a car has run over my legs. The bones are broken and crooked. Despite their poverty, my parents tried to get me treated but it had no effect."

Another resident, Mahadev Singh Bhokta, related that his back has become so stiff that he can't even sit down to defecate. With tears in his eyes, he asked, “How long will this situation continue? My grandson Manoj is eight years old. He cannot stand straight. It was not congenital. He started facing problems from the age of five. The doctors told me that he was suffering from fluorosis."

Dr Gufran, a renowned orthopedic specialist, explained that fluoride in water prevents people from growing taller. He has received similar complaints from many places. He also explained that the disease is not genetically linked.

"We don't know much about the situation in Bhoktauri village, but this problem persists due to high fluoride levels in the groundwater there. This is the reason why people there are becoming disabled," he said.

Meanwhile, Munna Kumar of the village pointed out that there are no victims of disease in his household. “We started preventive measures early on. The entire family drinks boiled water after cooling it. We have installed personal filters in the house and take utmost care of cleanliness. The only thing that happens is that sometimes there is pain in the hands and feet. After getting tested, it was found that this is due to fluoride,” he said.

Dr Gufran explained that fluorosis is a disease caused by drinking water containing fluoride (a mineral found in groundwater). It is of three types, including dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis and non-skeletal fluorosis.

Dental fluorosis manifests as discoloration of teeth, including spots and streaks. Skeletal fluorosis is a bone disease caused by excessive fluoride intake that interferes with normal bone growth and can affect people of all ages. Its initial symptoms include muscle stiffness, joint pain, burning, prickling and tingling sensation in the limbs along with fatigue.

Meanwhile, non-skeletal fluorosis is marked by sleep disturbances, new bone formation and curvature of bones. It adversely affects bones and weakens them. This causes numerous problems.

Medical experts say that fluoride has many effects on the body. This is why people of all ages in the village have suffered tooth decay. Their teeth have turned yellow and their bones have become weak.

The people are advised to heat and then cool the water for drinking, maintain cleanliness, modify diet and eat foods rich in Vitamin C and E along with calcium. They should also consume lemons, oranges, tomatoes, guavas, papayas, green leafy vegetables, sprouted grains and lentils.

Meanwhile, Dr M E Haq, District Officer for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the groundwater in the village has high fluoride levels.

When pointed out why the residents of one part of the village are sick and others are not, Rita Kumari, in-charge of the Fluoride Prevention Resource Centre disclosed that it's not common for groundwater in one area to be fluoride-rich and yet some remain unaffected. She advised people to remain vigilant.

She disclosed that the Bureau of Indian Standards recommends fluoride levels of 1 mg per litre. In an emergency, level up to 1.5 mg is acceptable but anything above this is dangerous. According to reports, the groundwater in this village contains 3 mg of fluoride.

Rita Kumari explained that the water was last tested on November 28, 2025 by a team from Fluoride Prevention Resource Centre in Patna and the fluoride content was found to be 3 ppm (parts per million) whereas the normal fluoride content should be 0.6 ppm.

So far, the water has been tested here on 16 counts. According to the Banke Bazaar Fluoride Test Centre, the tests have pertained to colour, taste, odour, turbidity, nitrate, arsenic, fluoride, iron, sulfate, calcium, magnesium, alkalinity and total hardness. A report dated November 9, 2023, found the water to be discoloured and tasteless.

Rita Kumari explained that awareness campaigns are carried out every three months and residents are treated at Banke Bazar Hospital.

Sanjay Das, a member of the local Panchayat committee, said that teams from the Health Department, the Public Health Engineering Department, the World Health Organization (WHO) and several private institutions have visited numerous times and conducted inspections but no one has found a permanent solution. A water purification machine was installed years ago that is now out of order.

Bhoktauri village falls in Imamganj assembly constituency. Its MLA is former Chief Minister and current Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi's daughter-in-law, Deepa Kumari. District Vice President of his Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) party, Ikram Khan said, "Union Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has taken cognizance of this matter. Local MLA Deepa Kumari has written a letter to the Public Health Engineering Department on this matter. The machine will be installed here within the next one month. Whatever problem is there will be resolved."

The locals disclosed that in 2016, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar initiated the scheme to provide tap water to households but this village has not received potable water.

Banke Bazar’s Block Development Officer (BDO) Uday Kumar disclosed that information about three villages facing this problem was received. "We have reported the matter to the Public Health Engineering Department through the Block office. The Department is currently installing filters there," he said.

SOURCE:
https://www.etvbharat.com/en/state/peop ... 5120702163