BRAHMANBARIA: Thousands of families are at risk of arsenic infection due to excessive presence of this toxic metal in the water of Brahmanbaria district.

An alarming rate of Arsenicosis patients are increasing in the disteict and sources of safe water are reducing very fast.

District Public Health engineering department Executive Sohrab Uddin Ahamed said that around 62,119 tube-wells were found arsenic contaminated, even 97 percent tube-wells were found affected in some of the villages.

But locals demanded that the condition is worse in reality. And gradually hundreds of tube-wells are becoming arsenic contaminated. People are forced to drink that contaminated water as there were no safe sources of water.

Nabinagar Upazila is in first position on arsenic contamination among other upazilas.

Banchharampur Upazila Nirbahi Officer ATM Kawsar Hossain told banglanews, “The contamination ratio is increasing day by day, but due to lack of sufficient allotment, it is not possible to supply pure water.”

Former chairman of the upazila said: “There are 538,937 families and most the families have a tube-well, but according to the public health engineer department, there are only 1.5 lakhs tube-wells in the district, which is not correct.”

Though there is a rule to give free medical treatment to arsenic patients, but patients didn’t get proper treatment.

Arsenic is harmful for human body. It’s a colorless, smell and tasteless poison. According to World Health Organization (WHO) over 0.05miligram in each liter water is harmful for human body and alarmingly 0.05 milligram arsenic was found in Brahmanbaria area.

BDST: 1349 HRS, SEP 06, 2013
MR/AKA/GCP