New Delhi:

“The water from hand pumps and tube wells is contaminated due to untreated waste from sugar mills, paper mills and other factories,” said Anil Kumar, a resident of nearby Chilora village in Meerut, who lost his 35-year-old wife 15 years back to blood cancer, and two uncles, aged 56 and 60, to lung cancer.

Former village pradhan Surendra Pal Singh told TOI that the latest casualty was a 70-year-old woman who passed away due to a liver-related illness at a hospital in Meerut. He pointed out that the chemical effluents from sugar mills and untreated sewage from nearby colonies is discharged into the drain.

As many as 13 persons have lost their lives in the past 15 days in Budhpur village of Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat, and local residents are putting the blame on toxic waste being discharged into a nearby drain for polluting the groundwater and sparking a health crisis, as per a Times of India report.

Villagers are in panic as deaths are occurring mostly from heart attacks, kidney failure and infections. What’s worse, the administration is yet to sit up and act.

According to him, chemicals are discharged by sugar mills in the Baraut region into nearby water bodies, which threatens aquatic life and pollutes the groundwater. The contaminated water poses severe health hazards, harms crops, and is deadly for livestock, he pointed out, adding: “It eventually flows into the Krishni river, a major tributary of the Hindon that runs through the district.”

Baghpat MP Rajkumar Sangwan reportedly said that it was a serious issue. “If mills are dumping untreated waste into water bodies, the Pollution Control Board and district administration must be held accountable. The issue may be linked to a small drain, but the lack of adequate healthcare facilities in Baghpat is also a major concern,” he pointed out.

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