<p>Weighed down by fears of contacting cancer, around 250 medical students and 150 doctors at the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College in Faridkot have moved out of their campus accommodation after high content of uranium was detected in the water supplied on the campus.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The hospital personnel left for locations in the city where safe drinking water was ensured, sources said. The medical college, which also houses a speciality cancer wing, was getting a supply of untreated groundwater for some time. By consuming the water available on the campus, they feared they would contact cancer, as using water filters hardly minimised the risk.<br /><br />Punjab has the dubious distinction of recording one of the highest instances of cancer in the country. Barely a few months back, scientists from the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC), who studied groundwater samples collected from parts of Malwa region in the state, reported high prevalence of uranium and other heavy metals in most of the 235 water samples collected. Water samples collected from Sarhali Khurd and Chambal villages of Naushehra Pannuan contained traces of uranium, the BARC analysis showed.<br /><br />Alarmingly, most local residents consume the water without purification. Sources said paucity of funds has delayed installation of a reverse osmosis plant in the medical college for supply of safe water. <br /><br />The high instance of cancer cases reported in Malwa region, dubbed the cancer capital of the country, caught the attention of a parliamentary committee. In a report last month, the Standing Committee on Rural Development said the Centre was “not showing the desired level of urgency and seriousness on the issue of reported detection of uranium contamination in the drinking water in rural areas of Punjab.”<br /><br />The committee recalled that in its previous report, it had expressed concern over the issue and recommended that the BARC be asked to respond. If the problem was not addressed, it may “cause incalculable damage to the health of human beings, livestock, environment and bio-safety”, the committee remarked.<br /><br />Rajesh Kochhar, former director of the National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies (CSIR), New Delhi, told Deccan Herald that uranium appears to be a part of Malwa’s geology.</p>
<p>Weighed down by fears of contacting cancer, around 250 medical students and 150 doctors at the Guru Gobind Singh Medical College in Faridkot have moved out of their campus accommodation after high content of uranium was detected in the water supplied on the campus.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The hospital personnel left for locations in the city where safe drinking water was ensured, sources said. The medical college, which also houses a speciality cancer wing, was getting a supply of untreated groundwater for some time. By consuming the water available on the campus, they feared they would contact cancer, as using water filters hardly minimised the risk.<br /><br />Punjab has the dubious distinction of recording one of the highest instances of cancer in the country. Barely a few months back, scientists from the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC), who studied groundwater samples collected from parts of Malwa region in the state, reported high prevalence of uranium and other heavy metals in most of the 235 water samples collected. Water samples collected from Sarhali Khurd and Chambal villages of Naushehra Pannuan contained traces of uranium, the BARC analysis showed.<br /><br />Alarmingly, most local residents consume the water without purification. Sources said paucity of funds has delayed installation of a reverse osmosis plant in the medical college for supply of safe water. <br /><br />The high instance of cancer cases reported in Malwa region, dubbed the cancer capital of the country, caught the attention of a parliamentary committee. In a report last month, the Standing Committee on Rural Development said the Centre was “not showing the desired level of urgency and seriousness on the issue of reported detection of uranium contamination in the drinking water in rural areas of Punjab.”<br /><br />The committee recalled that in its previous report, it had expressed concern over the issue and recommended that the BARC be asked to respond. If the problem was not addressed, it may “cause incalculable damage to the health of human beings, livestock, environment and bio-safety”, the committee remarked.<br /><br />Rajesh Kochhar, former director of the National Institute of Science Technology and Development Studies (CSIR), New Delhi, told Deccan Herald that uranium appears to be a part of Malwa’s geology.</p>
