50 crore (500 million ) people of subcontinent at risk of arsenic poisoning :Reduce dependence on underground water, urges arsenic workshop
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Experts and prominent members of the civil society on Wednesday emphasised the need to make the government and the lending agencies pro-active to provide safe drinking water across the country by reducing dependency on underground water to protect 100 million people who are at risk of arsenic poisoning.They also urged the authorities concerned to ensure the transparency and accountability of the organisations working on ways to stop or mitigate arsenic contamination.
These observations and demands were made at an international workshop on arsenic contamination of underground water in which a 10-point Dhaka Declaration was adopted. The declaration included a call to update and implement the National Arsenic Mitigation Policy 2005 and its action plan, after taking into account the risk, affordability and sustainability.
The other declarations include initiating large-scale programmes for rain-water harvesting at the national level, particularly for drinking and cooking; taking measures to ensure reliable access to water that is free of microbial, chemical and physical contamination; and asking the government and the lending agencies and countries and other support organisations to mobilise resources for treatment and rehabilitation of arsenicosis patients.
'The government and the donor communities should become pro-active to ensure supply of safe drinking water to the masses by reducing dependency on underground water,' said the Dhaka Community Hospital's chairman, Professor Quazi Quamaruzzaman.He warned the audience that arsenic contamination would hamper the national economy and society as about 100 million people are at risk of arsenic poisoning.
Urging the authorities concerned to ensure accountability in the field, he said, 'The big problem is that a huge amount of money has been made available here. Four billion dollars have already been spent for arsenic mitigation projects in the country. But the people are still suffering from arsenic contamination. We need to assess how much support we are really providing to the people who are at risk.'
The Dhaka Community Hospital's coordinator, Professor Mahmuder Rahman, suggested that there should be third party audit of the quality of the water of all deep tube-wells installed by government and non-government agencies in all the high-risk upazilas.
Dr Atiq A Rahman of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies suggested that a holistic approach should be adopted to address the problem of water contamination.Professor Mahmuder Rahman said that the World Health Organisation's approved level of arsenic contamination is 0.01mg/l, but Bangladesh is still maintaining the level at 0.05mg/l which is five times higher.
It is estimated that 30 per cent of the 10 million tube-wells of the country are contaminated with a high level of arsenic. But if 0.01mg/l is the upper limit then the percentage may be about 70 to 100 in some of the arsenic-contaminated areas.
Professor Feroze Ahmed of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology emphasised the need for introducing the water safety framework of the WHO to improve the safety level of underground water.
Professor Mujibur Rahman of BUET said harvesting rain-water could be a low-cost and technologically viable option for supply of safe drinking water in the arsenic-affected areas with the appropriate back-up of community sources of water for 2-3 months in the dry months of the year.
The Daily Star's editor, Mahfuz Anam, emphasised the need for creating a social movement to make the people, in general, and the policymakers, in particular, aware of arsenic-related problems. He also suggested preparation of a time-bound work plan to tackle the arsenic problem.
Professor Dipankar Chakraborti of the Jadavpur University, India, said that 50 crore people of the region, which includes Bangladesh and the neighbouring states of India, are exposed to arsenic contamination.
Professor Allan H Smith of the Berkeley University, USA, said the real problem in addressing the problem of drinking water contaminated by arsenic is the level of awareness in the decision-makers.Dr Meera Hira Smith of the same university warned against faulty installation of tube-wells.Farida Akhter of UBINIG said the arsenic problem is a women's health issue as they are most vulnerable to contamination.
The New Age's editor, Nurul Kabir, said the subsequent governments have failed to understand the level of arsenic contamination and the magnitude of the problem. Emphasising the need for making the people aware, he suggested launching of a concerted move by the electronic and print media — both Bangla and English.
It was the seventh international conference on arsenic contamination of underground water and its mitigation held at the Dhaka Community Hospital.
Babar Kabir of BRAC, Khaled Shams of Grameen Telecommunications, Richard Johnson of UNICEF, Abdul Motaleb of the water and sanitation programme of the World Bank and Sharmeen Murshed of Brotee, among others, participated in the discussion moderated by Professors Mahmuder Rahman and Ahmed Kamal.
These observations and demands were made at an international workshop on arsenic contamination of underground water in which a 10-point Dhaka Declaration was adopted. The declaration included a call to update and implement the National Arsenic Mitigation Policy 2005 and its action plan, after taking into account the risk, affordability and sustainability.
The other declarations include initiating large-scale programmes for rain-water harvesting at the national level, particularly for drinking and cooking; taking measures to ensure reliable access to water that is free of microbial, chemical and physical contamination; and asking the government and the lending agencies and countries and other support organisations to mobilise resources for treatment and rehabilitation of arsenicosis patients.
'The government and the donor communities should become pro-active to ensure supply of safe drinking water to the masses by reducing dependency on underground water,' said the Dhaka Community Hospital's chairman, Professor Quazi Quamaruzzaman.He warned the audience that arsenic contamination would hamper the national economy and society as about 100 million people are at risk of arsenic poisoning.
Urging the authorities concerned to ensure accountability in the field, he said, 'The big problem is that a huge amount of money has been made available here. Four billion dollars have already been spent for arsenic mitigation projects in the country. But the people are still suffering from arsenic contamination. We need to assess how much support we are really providing to the people who are at risk.'
The Dhaka Community Hospital's coordinator, Professor Mahmuder Rahman, suggested that there should be third party audit of the quality of the water of all deep tube-wells installed by government and non-government agencies in all the high-risk upazilas.
Dr Atiq A Rahman of the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies suggested that a holistic approach should be adopted to address the problem of water contamination.Professor Mahmuder Rahman said that the World Health Organisation's approved level of arsenic contamination is 0.01mg/l, but Bangladesh is still maintaining the level at 0.05mg/l which is five times higher.
It is estimated that 30 per cent of the 10 million tube-wells of the country are contaminated with a high level of arsenic. But if 0.01mg/l is the upper limit then the percentage may be about 70 to 100 in some of the arsenic-contaminated areas.
Professor Feroze Ahmed of the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology emphasised the need for introducing the water safety framework of the WHO to improve the safety level of underground water.
Professor Mujibur Rahman of BUET said harvesting rain-water could be a low-cost and technologically viable option for supply of safe drinking water in the arsenic-affected areas with the appropriate back-up of community sources of water for 2-3 months in the dry months of the year.
The Daily Star's editor, Mahfuz Anam, emphasised the need for creating a social movement to make the people, in general, and the policymakers, in particular, aware of arsenic-related problems. He also suggested preparation of a time-bound work plan to tackle the arsenic problem.
Professor Dipankar Chakraborti of the Jadavpur University, India, said that 50 crore people of the region, which includes Bangladesh and the neighbouring states of India, are exposed to arsenic contamination.
Professor Allan H Smith of the Berkeley University, USA, said the real problem in addressing the problem of drinking water contaminated by arsenic is the level of awareness in the decision-makers.Dr Meera Hira Smith of the same university warned against faulty installation of tube-wells.Farida Akhter of UBINIG said the arsenic problem is a women's health issue as they are most vulnerable to contamination.
The New Age's editor, Nurul Kabir, said the subsequent governments have failed to understand the level of arsenic contamination and the magnitude of the problem. Emphasising the need for making the people aware, he suggested launching of a concerted move by the electronic and print media — both Bangla and English.
It was the seventh international conference on arsenic contamination of underground water and its mitigation held at the Dhaka Community Hospital.
Babar Kabir of BRAC, Khaled Shams of Grameen Telecommunications, Richard Johnson of UNICEF, Abdul Motaleb of the water and sanitation programme of the World Bank and Sharmeen Murshed of Brotee, among others, participated in the discussion moderated by Professors Mahmuder Rahman and Ahmed Kamal.
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