An arsenic victim shows her dotted palms

New Delhi, May 27: A first-of-its-kind institute to be set up in Calcutta to research arsenic contamination of ground water in eastern India will work with technical support from a German agency.

The Union rural development ministry is co-ordinating with national and international agencies to set up the proposed International Institute of Excellence for Arsenic Studies and Research.

The ministry has set up a committee under the National Environment Engineering Research Institute director, S.R. Wate, to prepare a detailed project report listing specific areas the institute would focus on.

The German agency, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), will provide the institute technological support and train its personnel. The ministry has also tapped Finland for help.

The GIZ works on technology development in various areas like water management, sustainable economic development, energy security, conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.

“We have approached the German agency for technical support. It has agreed to co-operate with the project. The Finland government will also provide technical assistance,” Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh told The Telegraph.

He said the committee headed by Wate would suggest activities on research, community participation and extension. The committee will submit its report by June-end. The government has earmarked Rs 50 crore for the institute.

Subrata Mukherjee, the Bengal panchayat and rural development minister, said the state had taken possession of about 8.74 acres adjacent to IIM Calcutta in Joka for the institute.

“The state government will provide the land free. We have already taken possession of the land,” he said.

In February, the state government held an international conference on arsenic contamination of groundwater in Calcutta at which many countries and the UN University participated. Ground water in eight of Bengal’s 19 districts is affected by arsenic.

Dipankar Chakraborty, a professor at Jadavpur University’s School of Environment Studies, said arsenic contamination was evident over a 6,000sqkm area of the Ganga-Brahmaputra plains covering Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Bengal and the Northeast.

The source of arsenic is the Himalayas. The waters of the Himalayan rivers contain arsenic, which gets deposited in the soil over the years. As a result, an arsenic layer is formed below the surface of soil.

Chakraborty, who has extensively researched this problem in Bengal and Bangladesh, said arsenic-contaminated water could cause cancer. There is no data on how many people develop health problems every year because of this.

“Public awareness is very important. The institute should focus on research as required by state governments. But it will have to involve the communities and sensitise them not to consume contaminated water. Safe piped water has to be provided in affected areas,” Chakraborty said.

He said management of surface water was important. Preservation and proper utilisation of surface water should also get priority.