Fluoride in water cripples many, Agra village residents rue apathy

By Brij Khandelwal Agra, Dec 29 : Amid all talks of development in India in the 21 century, hundreds of residents of Pachgai Patti village — just a few kilometres from the iconic 17th century monument of love, Taj Mahal — are still forced to lead the lives of cripples in the absence of safe potable drinking water.
These villagers move around with crooked limbs or with other physical deformities due to the ill-effects of excess fluoride in underground water they are forced to consume and use it for other routine chores as they have no other alternative.
The village, situated in Agra district, is said to have the dubious distinction of reporting maximum number of disabled persons from the area. More than seven decades after Independence, this village with a population of more than a 1,000 faces shortage of potable drinking water.
For the past several days now, the villagers have been on a relay fast to demand piped Ganga Jal, which is planned to be supplied to the neighbouring urban clusters on the Shamshabad Road.
Advocate Girish Chandra Sharma, who is leading the agitators, told IANS that the underground water in the entire area is affected by fluoride and thus highly toxic for human consumption.
“A large number of people have fallen victims to the malady, leading to their physical deformities. Many cannot even walk straight,” he pointed out.