Govt to tackle toxicity in drinking water

In a major initiative to tackle the problem of water contamination by arsenic and fluoride in many rural areas, the government has decided to harness the latest technology and increase allocation to improve the quality of drinking water in villages.

Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad Singh said here on Sunday that there were about 2.17 lakh quality-affected habitations in the country. ‘‘This includes 5,029 habitations affected by excess arsenic, 31,306 by fluoride, 23,495 by salinity, 1,18,088 by iron and 13,958 by nitrates,’’ he said, citing the latest data on the basis of a nationwide survey.

The government intends to provide focussed funding on water quality under the Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission to tackle the issue in a time-bound manner, Singh said.