Rescuing the arsenic-hit

People taking arsenic-free water from a treatment plant at Kaila village in Kolaroa upazila in Satkhira district, set up by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). PHOTO: STAR

It is supplying arsenic-free water in Kaila village, the worst affected area. A large number of people in the area are affected with various diseases as the level of arsenic in groundwater is between 0.50 and 0.70 against the WHO permissible level of 0.05.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has installed two arsenic removal plants wherefrom hundreds of men, women and children also from far away villages are taking drinking water.

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The level of arsenic was detected in a survey conducted by a local NGO in co-operation with Public Health Engineering Department (PHE) under the Bangladesh Arsenic Mitigation Water Supply Project in 2001.

Observing the alarming situation, the GSK came forward and took up a project at the initiative of its Communication Manager Dr Ashok Kumar Roy.

The two community-based plants have been set up on the premises of Kaila High School and Kaila Primary School at a cost of Tk 5 lakh.

Each project includes an over head tank, water treatment plant and a deep tube well.

The two plants purify about 2400 litres of water a day and supply it to villagers, who pays only Tk 10 per family a month. It is not a business venture. The money thus collected is spent to run the two plants.

A community-based body styled Association for Arsenic Mitigation formed by the villagers manages the two plants. It is headed by Kaila High School Headmaster Abdur Rouf.

GSK has also placed Tk one lac with a local bank as fixed deposit in favour of the committee on condition that it will draw the monthly interest only to meet monthly expenditure. "We have so far covered 450 out 500 families in Kalia village under the project," Abdur Rouf told this correspondent during a recent visit to the village.

"We will be able to cover the rest 50 families under the project soon", he said.

The villagers are also being motivated not to use arsenic contaminated water.

The community-based association has been formed to ensure participation of all the villagers so that they can run the plants in future, Dr. Roy told this correspondent.

This is the first attempt by GSK to combat arsenicosis in the country and more will come up in future, he noted.

Some of the villagers said women no longer have to walk miles for a pitcher of water.

Middle aged Rahima Khatun of the village said GSK has saved the villagers from a serious problem and being gradually affected with arsenicosis and other incurable fatal diseases.