Over 1.5m people in five upazilas of Chapainawabganj in Rajshahi region are at risk of arsenic poisoning due to contaminated tube well waters.
The people of Volahat upazila, bordering the Indian state of West Bengal, are the worst sufferers as they use arsenic contaminated ground water for drinking.
However, the arsenicosis could be prevented if the patients are ensured with safe drinking water and proper healthcare at initial stage.
“The government and the NGOs with the help of Unicef are trying to mitigate the problem and find alternate sources of safe drinking water, but the measures still remain at micro level,” said Dr Ali Akbar Sarker, upazila health and family planning officer of Volahat.
He was addressing a day-long upazila-level discussion on arsenic contamination and its mitigation held at Volahat Upazila Health Complex on Monday.
Upazila Health Complex and Grameen Multipurpose Development Organisation jointly organised the discussion.
A project titled “Enhancing Governance and Capacity of Service Providers and Civil Society in Water Supply and Sanitation” supported the programme.
Upazila Nirbahi Officer Kazi Ziaul Baset and Programme Facilitator of NGO Forum for Public Health Sabit Zahan Shishir addressed the discussion as chief and special guest respectively.
Dr Ali Akbar stressed the need for massive research by the government, adding that Unicef, World Bank, and other donor agencies should come forwards to assist the government as it requires a big fund to face the challenge.
He sought cooperation of the media people to project the hazards of arsenic and bring changes to behaviour and habits of the people in their search for alternative safe drinking water.
Dr Akbar said: “We have detected 20,541 tube-wells out of 92,000 infected by arsenic contamination in Chapainawabganj. We have tested the tube-wells and found arsenic contamination in 80% of the tube-wells in five upazilas.”
“The fight against arsenic is very tough. Coordinated efforts of different government and non-government organisations are essential to stem the arsenic contamination,” he said, while emphasising the need for creating mass awareness in the vulnerable areas to aid prevention.
Over 50 people, including government officials, public representatives, NGO activists, health practitioners and other stakeholders attended the discussion.