Himalayan News Service

Bhairahawa, February 6:

A study has revealed that water in 65 per cent of the 46,600 tube wells in the Rupendehi district is unsafe for drinking. Some 550,000 people in the district depend on tube wells for potable water.

Lack of proper structures around the wells has made well water more prone to contamination, the study conducted by the Rural Drinking Water and Hygiene District Project said.

Tube wells deeper than 10 metres and with good structures on the surface are less likely to have any kind of bacteria, but the study showed that even the tube wells with proper structures on the surface were not safe enough.

There are some 5,311 tube wells in the district which are less than 10 metres deep.

The study further said that they failed to study the condition of water in some 10,440 tube wells with surface structures because they had dried up.

The report said 26 per cent of the district population was consuming safe water, 53 per cent was getting tolerable quality of water but the 21 per cent was consuming extremely contaminated water.

Some of the samples taken from the wells were found to be contaminated with arsenic but proper arsenic tests have not been conducted, the report said.

Only 20 per cent of the population in the district uses toilets while the rest defecate in open fields and pu-blic places.

Eight VDCs of Bhagwanpur, Bodhbar, Jogada, Karauta, Khudabagar, Maryadpur, Sipawa and Thumuwapipara have no toilet at all. There is only one toilet in each of the VDCs of Silautiya, Ekala, Mainhiya, Semara and Chhipagadh. Bagada, Rohinihawa, Asuraina, Haranaiya and Bagauli VDCs had two toilets.

Of the 85,000 houses in Rupandehi district, only 16,000 have usable toilets, the report said, adding, 122 schools and 180 organisation offices did not have toilets.

This poor sanitary condition has had an adverse impact on people’s health in the district.

It is reported that 63 per cent of the patients visiting health centres were suffering from one or other kind of water-borne disease.

Last year’s record obtained from the District Public Health Office shows that out of 133,200 patients of the district, 50,489 had skin diseases, 16,462 had respiratory problems, 15,800 suffered from diarrhoea, 10,251 had worms.

Gastritis troubled 7,084 persons, 6,613 suffered from ear-related problems while 3,552 were eye patients.