RAIPUR: Drinking water in 395 villages across 17 out of total 27 districts in Chhattisgarh contains fluoride beyond permissible limit, the state Assembly was told today.
"Complaints were received regarding fluoride contamination beyond normal limit in drinking water from 17 districts of the state where 395 villages are affected," Public Health Engineering Minister, Ramsewak Paikra said in a written reply to a question of BJP MLA Santosh Bafna.
While Surguja district tops the list with 67 such villages, it is followed by districts of Bastar (56), Surajpur (39), Dhamtari (35), Koriya (32), Balod (30), Kondagaon (30), Mahasamund (27), Balrampur (25), Korba (19), Kanker (13), Bijapur (8), Durg (7), Raigarh (4) and a village each in districts of Bemetara, Kabirdham and Gariyaband.
To a query, the minister clarified that no complaint about villagers falling ill after consuming fluoride-contaminated water was received from Bastar region.
Through installing fluoride removal plant (FRP), "Nal-Jal Scheme" and other optional sources, clean potable water is being provided in the fluoride-affected villages, the reply said.
According to World Health Organisation, ingestion of excess fluoride, most commonly in drinking water, can cause fluorosis which affects the teeth and bones and potentially severe skeletal problems in case of long-term ingestion.