Bhairahawa, May 10:

Most residents of the township of Bhairahawa are now consuming water from tube-wells that are contaminated with ammonia, arsenic and other harmful chemicals, according to a recent survey.

Water sample with more than 0.02 mg of arsenic per litre is harmful to human body, according to the World Health Organisation.

Recent tests conducted by the Siddharthanagar municipality at the Food Examination Lab show that most urban people are now consuming water contaminated with arsenic.

In a lab test, out of 775 water samples from different tube-wells, arsenic was found in 86 samples. In Siddharthanagar municipality, about 70 per cent people consume tube-well water. Laboratory chief Mina Pokharel said, “We found as much as 0.08 milligrams of arsenic per litre of water in some samples.”