HYDERABAD: The extreme levels of pollution of Musi river, a tributary of river Krishna and the city’s longlost lifeline, has been debated and discussed to its core. Over the years, the river bed has been encroached upon and converted into agriculture land and a large number of borewells have been dug up, leaving the people in the vicinity dependent mainly on the polluted underground water. What now emerges is a revelation: the river’s pollution continues to be a threat to the lives of people, especially pregnant women and their unborn children living in the area, a study points out.
“Musi’s pollution has reached such alarming levels that it has been causing miscarriages among pregnant women living in its vicinity,” a study called the “Effect of water pollution in Musi river...”, published in March 2018, read. The threat of miscarriage comes from consuming contaminated fruits and vegetables grown on the river bed.
While everyone who consumes the produce grown on the river bed are at risk, the study stresses more on vulnerability of women as they are more dependent on the polluted groundwater. The study carried out by professors of Shadan Women’s College of Engineering and Technology and JNTU-H, cited another study and said that fishermen too have stopped fishing in the area, and the groundwater was not useful for cultivation. Dr Vimee Bindra, consultant gynaecologist and infertility specialist of Apollo Health City, Jubilee Hills, was quoted in the study saying, “Miscarriage is indirectly related to Musi as consumption of contaminated vegetables and fruits grown on its bed will have an effect on pregnancy.
A healthy pregnancy needs healthy nutrition (sic). So, if nutrition (food) is contaminated it will affect pregnancy either in the form of miscarriage, low birth weight, preterm labour or congenital abnormality associated with some specific substances present in diet.” Senior consultant physician Dr Hari Kishan Boorugu too pointed out in the study that high level of pollution was indirectly linked to human health and could cause miscarriage.
“If groundwater is contaminated, it can result in many foodand- water borne infections like typhoid, hepatitis, listeriosis. Listeriosis, which is a foodborne disease, can cause miscarriage in pregnant women,” he said.
A direct link
While city doctors are still wary of directly linking miscarriages to Musi, there is one case which stablished direct link of water pollution and miscarriages. In Flint, US, after the city shifted its drinking needs to river water, there was a decrease of 12% in fertility rate and an increase of 58% of fetal death ates. It was discovered that there was presence of lead in city’s river water
MRDC invites 10 top international firms
MRDC also invited 10 top international firms to submit their designs for beautification and development f Musi. Designers Turenscape of China, Eco System Design of US, Henning Larsen of Denmark have come forward to change look of the river