Project 2

On going project…………Environmental health impact of Toxic wastes  at Edulabad Village Along the River Musi (AP India).

PROLOGUE

The Andhra Pradesh State Government's decision to go ahead with the laying of a 18-km-pipeline to carry industrial effluents from Patancheru industrial area to Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP) at Amberpet, is nothing but "merely shifting pollution problem from one area to another" and the modus operandi, to divert the effluents in a pipeline and join it to the `K and S main' at Kukatpally, from where there is another pipeline that goes upto Amberpet STP ultimately affecting the health of community residing in the downstream along the river Musi which is highly contaminated with industrial wastes.

The move can be regarded as "disaster in the pipeline," that has proven calamitous for the villagers downstream of the Musi in Ranga Reddy and Nalgonda districts as the Amberpet STP, having grossly inadequate capacity and lacking facility for treating industrial waste, may merely let out the effluents into the Musi river. It is evident that only less than 30 per cent of the existing sewage generated in the city reached the Amberpet STP. It meant a large quantity of the untreated or under- treated sewage was along with partially treated industrial effluents released   into the river contaminating the River coarse. The impact is proving disastrous and causing immense suffering to communities living in the downstream.

 The Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) at Jeedimetla, Patancheru and Bollaram areas in Hyderabad have been discharging so called partially"treated effluents" into municipal sewers, which are ultimately finding their way into the Musi. The CETPs at present are functioning much below its’ capacity, that too by mixing domestic sewage for dilution. Even after this dilution, the effluents being discharged by CETPs have `TDS' levels far in excess of 15,000 stipulated in the Action Plan. In addition to that heavy metals as well as organic pollutants that are carcinogenic in nature have been detaected in the River Musi.

In about 20 villages downstream of the River Musi, the sources of surface and ground water is totally contaminated by intrusion of the untreated effluents, depriving villagers of even safe drinking water.

One of the worst affected town is the Edulabad having  a population of about 15,000 affected by toxic discharges into the river. A large fresh water pond, Lakshminarayana Chervu, is polluted rendering the 1,400  acres of ayacut [fertile land] useless, about 851 acres being cultivated for paddy with low yields.

SOCIOECONOMIC DATA OF EDULABAD VILLAGE

Edulabad is a small village located in rural area at 25 Km from Hyderabad city of Andhra Pradesh, India. The village is located on topo sheet at the intersection of Latitude 17°31’ North and Longitude 78°52’ East at an elevation of 350 m above Mean Sea Level. The area is stratigraphically Peninsular Gneiss complex in nature and granite rock have been found. Red earths with loamy sub-soils cover this area. It is mostly hot and dry in the peak summer month. The annual average temperature is 31.5°C The average rain fall is about 818 mm. It is principally fed by the southwest monsoon while the northeast monsoon contributes about a third of the rainfall. The town can be approached from Hyderabad at a distance of 25 Km and well connected by good road network.

The traditional fishing community that thieved on fishing from the lake has abandoned fishing and lost their livelihood due to mixing of industrial effluents in the pond. Even then, the bore wells been contaminated by intrusion of polluted pond water. The residents of the village are forced to consume bore well water contaminated by industrial pollutants, sewage waste, and dyes from hand pumps to Hyderabad city. 

The ongoing projects is aimed at understanding

1. Nature and source of toxic substances contaminating the lake
2. Study the intrusion of contaminants into the ground water aquifer and drinking water sources from the lake
3. Impact of industrial effluents on socio-economic conditions of fishing community
4.  Nature and types diseases prevailing in the community living in the affected villages
5. Toxicological evaluation of water and foods consumed in the affected village of Edulabad
6.  Remedial measure to combat the industrial pollution.

Location map of Environmental Health study area.

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