Fluoride content dips in groundwater in Nalgonda

The usage of groundwater had fallen sharply after the State began supplying drinking water to all fluoride affected villages under Mission Bhagiratha.

Nalgonda: The fluoride content in groundwater in fluoride-affected areas of Nalgonda district has dipped by at least 50 percent, due to an improvement in the groundwater levels, thanks to Mission Kakatiya.

The State government had already succeeded in stopping new fluorosis cases in the district by supplying safe drinking water to every house in fluoride affected villages through Mission Bhagiratha. It had also taken up work on the Shivannagudem reservoir, aiming to bring the fluoride content to a normal level (1.5 ppm) in the groundwater in Marrigudem, Chandur and Nampally mandals.

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The usage of groundwater had fallen sharply after the State began supplying drinking water to all fluoride affected villages under Mission Bhagiratha. At the same time, about 142 irrigation tanks were restored under Mission Kakatiya in Marrigudem, Chandur and Nampally, which were the worst fluoride-affected areas in the district. These two factors led to an improvement in the groundwater levels, in turn leading to a dip in the fluorite content in the groundwater as well.

According to figures from Groundwater Department officials, the groundwater level in the district had shot up to 3.41 metres in 2022 from 9.1m in 2014. The groundwater levels had significantly improved in the fluoride-affected mandals of Marriguda, Chandur, Nampally and Munugode mandals as well.

The groundwater level improved to 4.07 m in 2022 from 14.35 m in in 2015 in Marriguda mandal while the level improved to 5.95 m in 2022 from 12.14 m in Chandur mandal. In Nampally, the level went up to 4.46 m in 2022 from 7.49 m in 2015 while the same improved to 2.9 m from 7.10 m in Munugode mandal during this period. This, according to officials, has led to fluoride level in the groundwater in several villages dipping by 50 percent.

Speaking to Telangana Today, Water Testing Laboratory consultant Veera Reddy said the testing of groundwater had almost stopped since 2017 as the people stopped using groundwater for consumption after supplying of safe drinking water to every house began under Mission Bhagiratha.

“We recently tested the groundwater collected from 43 fluoride-affected villages for a study.

Interestingly, we found a significant reduction in fluoride content in these water samples,” he added.

In 90 per cent of the tested villages, the fluoride content in groundwater had come down, he added.

Water quality analysis expert Vikas Ratan said the level of fluoride content in groundwater would be reduced when the water level improved.

Fluorosis Vimukthi Porata Samithi Kanchukatla Subash hoped that the fluoride in groundwater in Marriguda, Chandur and Nampally mandals would fall to normal levels once the Cherlagudem reservoir was filled with water after completion. The reservoir would also solve the irrigation problem in the area, he said.