(MENAFN – Kashmir Observer)
There is no shortage of water resources in Jammu and Kashmir. We have good water to drink and to irrigate our farmland. The Kashmir Valley, in particular, has huge glaciers, lakes, rivers, springs, and streams. Although there are many water resources, most people in towns, villages, and cities of G and K are provided with unsafe drinking water. The raw water supplied to drinking water plants is contaminated not only with solid or liquid waste or human and animal feces, but also with various pesticides and insecticides sprayed in apple and vegetable gardens, golf courses, gardens and parks. Our drinking water sources.
As previously reported in the weekly video series Inkishaf on Kashmir, the Dud Gangga River, the main source of drinking water in the city of Sirin, is no longer available. This small river, which originates in the Pan Panjal glacier of the Himalayan region, is clear and clear. But after traveling 30 miles[30 km]it is not only contaminated with liquid waste, but also with pesticides and nearby apple orchards.
Solid and liquid waste was already a threat to Dude Gang. The water supplied from the Dud Ganga water treatment plant in Kralpora is unsuitable for drinking, especially during the rainy season when pesticides are sprayed in the rain.
Polluted water from Dud Gangan will be pumped to the Kralpora refinery and then to sediment and chlorine to more than half a million people in the city of Sirin. Will this water contain enough not only waste water but also toxic pesticides? The pollution control committee does not even consider this aspect.
South Kashmir
Tons of municipal solid waste are dumped on the banks of the Vishwa River in the southern Kashmir district headquarters on a daily basis, with the exception of the municipal committee. This is a breach of the 2016 municipal solid waste laws that are expected to apply to its own municipal institution.
In addition to solid waste and sewage from the city of Kulgam, they pollute the river, which is a source of drinking water for thousands of families in the districts of Klaga and Anantnag in South Kashmir.
Large quantities of pesticides are being sprayed in the spring (March) in Gargaam district. These are washed into small waves and streams and end up in the Visha River. If it rains after pesticides, drinking water sources become more contaminated.
The Department of Public Health Engineering (PH) is providing not only clean and untreated drinking water to the people of Kulgama, but also to neighboring Anantnag and Shopian districts. Experts from the Department of Fruit and Vegetation have not developed any understanding of water bodies for pest control and protection. The government should create a joint task force such as PHE and the Department of Fruit and Agriculture to highlight the importance of minimizing harm to water bodies when spraying chemicals. It would be better for farmers to move to organic farming.
Water from Lake Dal
The most shocking thing is the use of pesticides in Lake Dale and in the surrounding apple orchards. Pesticides are also used in the city’s famous Mughal and Tulip gardens and golf courses, which enter Lake Dal.
Lake Dal is regularly treated with pesticides from March to August. This is not only common in humans but also in marine life, especially in Kashmir.
Interestingly, the water from Lake Dal is pumped by the PHE department around the Pokriibil area and sent to two people in several parts of the old town of Sirinagar.
Pesticides in drinking water cannot be controlled by outdated processes such as sludge removal or bleaching, which is usually done to kill bacteria in the PHE Jal Shakti section. In fact, as is the case in many parts of Kashmir, red powder itself is harmful if used directly in water. Chlorine gas is also used to pollute water in many water supply plants, but experts say this is a dangerous way to purify drinking water.
A report published in the International Journal of Pharmaceutical Science and Research (Dr. Mudsassir Bandi et al., December 2012) on the contamination of freshwater fish, “Shizotorarax Niger” (algae ice trout) with Clopriphos in the Dal of Basin Phosphate Pesticides in Shizotorax Niger.
The role of the pollution control committee
The J and K Poll Control Committee (J and K PCC) plays an important role in monitoring the contamination of drinking water with pesticides. J.C.C.C. By taking chemical fertilizers to drinking water sources, it can take action against the wrong farmers when they violate the 1974 Water (Pollution Prevention and Control) Act.
Water works began to prevent and control water pollution and to maintain or restore the integrity of the water. It also provides for the establishment of boards to control water pollution. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in the Commonwealth, the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) or the Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) are the watchdogs.
The former J and K State Pollution Control Board (JCCC) has not conducted any research to determine the impact of pesticides on drinking water sources or other bodies of water. The CPCB should take note of this. It should also examine whether watering pesticides into rivers and lakes in Kashmir in all four reforms from 2016 to 2019 is a violation of hazardous waste management regulations.
Right to a healthy environment
Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right of Indian citizens to live in a healthy environment. When the constitution was drafted and approved by the Constituent Assembly, the right to a healthy environment was not included. Health, sanitation, agriculture, soil, water, etc. are on the list of states where the state can legislate. The list of the Union includes matters such as nuclear power, oil fields and resources, interstate rivers, etc., for which only parliament has the power to legislate.
The preamble of the constitution clearly states that social and economic justice is the basis of our constitution. The Supreme Court recognizes the right to life under Article 21 and the right to free living and pollution rights in the state of Suhar in the state of Suhash Kumar v / s.
Brain cancer and pesticides
Neurosurgeon Professor Abdul Rashid Baht and others from the Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar, have linked pesticides to brain cancer. A report published in the October 2010 issue of the Indian Journal of Medicine and Pediatric Oncology Of the 432 major brain tumors diagnosed by SKIMS in a scientific study (excluding metastatic lesions) in 2010, there were 389 orchards. .
After direct exposure to various pesticides in apple farms, 61% of farmers / farm workers were harmed, and 39% were indirectly exposed, including contaminated drinking water. Most of the affected districts were Anantnag, Baramula, Bugam, and Shopian.
In J and K, government and scientific institutions make it clear that more research needs to be done on pesticide contamination of drinking water sources, as well as input from health experts and other experts.
Effect on male fertility
A 2015 study in the United States found that high levels of pesticides in some fruits and vegetables can reduce the quality of semen. The first-of-its-kind five-year study has a significant impact on public health, says the medical journal Human Repression, with a focus on women’s issues.
Fruits and vegetables eaten by men at Harvard University were estimated to be high, medium, or low, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Peppers, spinach, strawberries, apples, and pears are in the “top” category, with the lowest rated peas, beans, grapefruit, and onions. They took into account that the tests were shaved and washed.
The study found that men who ate a lot of “pest-heavy” fruits and vegetables had an average of 86 million sperm in the semen compared to men who produced 171 million sperm in a single semen. Frequent human reproduction is one of the top three magazines in the field of reproductive biology, obstetrics and gynecology.
Conclusion
The PHE Jal Shakti Department is unaware of this concern. They have techniques to kill bacteria in water, but what about water treatment with pesticides? The department is in contact with farmers through the fruit and vegetable departments and seeks guidance from the pollution control committee. Capacity building programs should be conducted for farmers to ensure that pesticides used in agriculture do not contaminate nearby drinking water sources. We need a law in this matter.
- The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial views of the Kashmir observer.
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