Drinking water with high nitrate content causes blue baby syndrome, says MoS Jal Shakti

New Delhi: Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with Pollution Control Boards and Committees in different States and Union Territories (UTs) has been monitoring the water quality of rivers and other water bodies across the country through a network of monitoring stations under the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme.

The Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Food Processing Industries, Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Thursday said that "Drinking water containing 'Nitrate' concentration beyond the permissible limit of 45 mg/l, as per BIS Drinking Water Specification, causes methemoglobinemia or popularly known as a blue baby syndrome. The other symptoms caused by a higher concentration of Nitrate include decreased blood pressure, increased heart rate, headaches, stomach cramps and vomiting."

The minister also that the cleaning and rejuvenation of rivers is an ongoing activity. It is the responsibility of the States/UTs and local bodies to ensure the required treatment of sewage and industrial effluents to the prescribed norms before discharging into the river and other water bodies, coastal waters or land to prevent and control pollution.

"For conservation of rivers, the Ministry has been supplementing efforts of the States/UTs by providing financial and technical assistance for abatement of pollution in identified stretches of rivers in the country through the Central Sector Scheme of 'NamamiGange' for rivers in Ganga basin and the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for other rivers,' stated by Patel in the lower house of the Parliament.

"NRCP has so far covered polluted stretches on 34 rivers in 77 towns spread over 16 states in the country with the project sanctioned cost of Rs 5965.90 crore, and inter-alia, a sewage treatment capacity of 2522.03 MLD has been created. Under the 'Namami Gange programme', a total of 346 projects including 158 projects for sewage treatment of 4948 MLD and sewer network of 5213 km, have been sanctioned at a cost of Rs 30235 crore," he said.