Water pollution in India is affecting agriculture sector of the country

During the month of December 2020, heavy metals were found in food crops irrigated from the Bengaluru lakes in India. Scientists warned saying consumption of these food items may prove to be fatal in the long run after the incident. According to the information, crops grown using lake water in and around Bengaluru have been found to have high levels of heavy metals (way above the permissible limits). Some of the crops that were sampled were tomato, paddy, spinach and beetroot among others.

All the crops that were collected contained higher level of cadmium, chromium and nickel. These metals are permissible under the Indian Standards(IS) but to a certain degree. As per the information given, it is not the first time that toxic metals have been found but also in 2017, an expert committee formed to regenerate two lakes in the city named Varthur and Bellandur got to know that soil around the lake bed used for small scale cultivation was laced with toxic metal. According to the researchers, there is an accumulation of toxic metals in farmland irrigated with lakes around the city such as Hoskote Doddakere, Yele Mallapa Shetty, Varthur, Margondanahalli, Byramangala and Jigani lakes. They also hinted towards the milk from cattle that graze on these areas could be harmful for consumption.

Nickel and chromium are both important micronutrients needed by a human body but in a limited amount. According to Sujata, a Nutritionist said, “Our body requires nickel for the proper functioning as it not only raises the hormonal activities but also helps in lipid metabolism whereas chromium breakdown fats and carbohydrates and is important for brain functioning.“ She added, “But every nutrient has a limit set by professionals and our body itself. If the limit exceeds, it is considered as a poison for the body and can give dangerous side effects instantly or later depends.“

Romit Sen is working in an international organization named Institute of Sustainable Communities(ISC) as an Associate Director. ISC is working with communities around the world to address economic, social and environmental challenges to build a better. On this incident of discovering heavy metals in the crops, Romit said, “We would need to look at the root of the problem which is, where do farmers get water for irrigation. Also, what is the cause of pollution of our water bodies. These two problems are core to the latest incident that occurred. Evidence indicates that anthropogenic causes of water pollution are becoming severe. It is also true that with increasing incidents of water scarcity, ensuring assured and time supply of clean water for irrigation is becoming a challenge.“

He told Eat News, with 70 per cent of its surface water resources and a growing percentage of its groundwater reserves contaminated by biological, toxic, organic and inorganic pollutants, water pollution is a serious problem in India. A total of 69,258 rural habitations are impacted by poor water quality.

As agriculture sector is considered as an important source of generating economy and living of the country and since water pollution is affecting it too, Romit Sen shared with what approach the problem can be handled. He said, “Agriculture sector is the largest user of freshwater in India. Our agriculture operations are input intensive and we use a huge number of pesticides and fertilizers for growing our crops. Runoff from agriculture fields is responsible for water pollution. But it is also true that in certain areas farmers are forced to irrigate their fields with water that may be polluted. The right approach for addressing this would be for farmers to look at water conservation measures at field level to reduce the quantum of water needed for irrigation.“ According to him this will reduce their dependence on freshwater for irrigation and lower the water footprint of our crops. He added, “While using water for irrigation it is now always possible for farmers to monitor the water quality but in areas where water quality is a problem, they can be trained to use field testing kits to check the contamination of water before irrigation.“

Romit also listed the major reasons of water pollution in India. “The major causes are either natural like inland and coastal salinity, geogenic contamination due to the presence of arsenic, fluoride, iron and nitrates and anthropogenic such as disposal of untreated industrial and domestic effluents or runoff from agricultural fields“, said Romit.

According to him, “Excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides in agricultural activities to enhance productivity due to rapid population increase and development of technology threaten the groundwater and surface water on a large scale. Discharge of untreated sewage in water bodies is one of the major sources of water pollution. An estimated 62,000 million litres per day (MLD) sewage is generated in urban areas, while the treatment capacity across India is only 23,277 MLD, or 37 per cent of sewage generated and treatment of wastewater in India. Industrial production is another significant cause of pollution. The discharge of industrial effluents and hazardous waste has severely polluted freshwater sources.“

Water pollution is affecting not only human beings but also the underwater living beings. Every year government is facing this rising issue of water pollution and the condition is getting worse every day. Romit Sen said, “Tackling water pollution and addressing water quality-related challenges will need to be a mix of prevention, technology, removal, community participation and considerable resources – both human and financial. The legal framework and the implementation of laws will need to be strengthened with real time monitoring and subsequent action. Focus must be on prevention rather than treatment.“