India begins fresh stint at UNSC

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  India begins fresh stint at UNSC

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Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

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• Introduction: There are 6,061 arsenic-affected and 4,592 flouride-affected human habitations in India, as per government information. The Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said that of the 6,061 arsenic-affected habitations, more than half or 3,115 are in West Bengal, followed by 2,291 in Assam, 385 in Bihar and 222 in Uttar Pradesh. Of the 4,592 flouride-affected habitations, 2,820 are in Rajasthan, followed by 844 in Bihar and 276 in West Bengal.
• Role of JJM: The Minister said that since August 2019, the Centre, in partnership with the states, is implementing the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to provide potable tap water supply to every rural household in the country by 2024. Under JJM, while planning water supply schemes to provide tap water supply to rural households, priority is given to quality-affected habitations which, inter alia, include habitations affected with arsenic and fluoride contamination. Accordingly, states are prioritising water supply schemes to provide potable drinking water to such habitations.
• Lab testing: The Jal Shakti ministry said about 2,000 laboratories across the country have been opened up to the general public for testing their water samples at a nominal rate. The source coordinates of all water samples are captured and the water quality testing reports are generated online and sent to the citizens, along with a copy to the public health engineer concerned for immediate corrective action, if any, and also to the central database for continuous monitoring and remedial action.
• Guidelines: The ministry launched a framework and guidelines for testing, monitoring and surveillance of drinking water quality as well as a Water Quality Information Management System (WQIMS), an online portal that provides detailed information of laboratories for the purpose. The guidelines specify the work to be done in terms of surveillance and monitoring at the state, district, block or tehsil and village levels. The basic water quality parameters prescribed under the guidelines are pH value, total dissolved solids, turbidity, chloride, total alkalinity, total hardness, sulphate, iron, total arsenic, fluoride, nitrate, total coliform bacteria, e.coil or thermo-tolerant coliform bacteria. 
• Knowledge centre:

1. Arsenic in water - Arsenic is a natural component of the earth’s crust and is widely distributed throughout the environment in the air, water and land. It is highly toxic in its inorganic form. People are exposed to elevated levels of inorganic arsenic through drinking contaminated water, using contaminated water in food preparation and irrigation of food crops, industrial processes, eating contaminated food and smoking tobacco. The greatest threat to public health from arsenic originates from contaminated groundwater. Inorganic arsenic is naturally present at high levels in the groundwater of a number of countries, including Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, India, Mexico, and the United States of America. Drinking-water, crops irrigated with contaminated water and food prepared with contaminated water are the sources of exposure. 
2. Arsenic poisoning - Arsenic poisoning is a medical condition that occurs due to elevated levels of arsenic in the body. If arsenic poisoning occurs over a brief period of time, symptoms may include vomiting, abdominal pain, encephalopathy, and watery diarrhea that contains blood.

Read more on - Polity | Economy | Schemes | S&T | Environment

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