The jauradice epidemic in Kanapur
"LAST YEAR's jaundice epidemic in Kanpur highlights the fundamental problems that plague any attempt to clean the Gangs," says social activist Raghunath Singh, commenting on the official tally of 1,200 dead in the 1991 jaundice epidemic, although the actual number is held to be much higher.
Kanpur municipal officials deny the epidemic was caused by polluted water from the Ganga. However, sources within the Kanpur Jal Samsthan (Kanpur water-works) tell a different story. They say, because the jal samsthan had no funds to settle the accounts of R L Chemical Works, which was supplying them with the necessary chemicals to purify the water, Kanpur residents were receiving untreated water. Evidently, even repeated memoranda sent by chief chemical analyst K K Shukla failed to elicit a response.
In February 1991, when chemical supplies stopped, Shukla re-alerted his superiors to the critical state of affairs, but he was told as there was no money to make spot purchases and should the supplier refuse to extend credit, untreated water could be supplied to residents. Shulda then suggested that at least public notices shouldibe posted, warning users to boil M,,kd filter the water.
But even this suggestion went unheeded supposedly to prevent any marring of the Mulayam Singh government's image at the height of campaigning for the Lok Sabha. Thus, the unsuspecting residents of Kanpur drank water all the more polluted because the reduced flow of the river in May led to a concentration in its toxicity. It was only after a public outcry following the outbreak of jaundice that the state government found the money to buy the necessary chemicals. Floating, moveable barges serve as platForms for the equipment used to pump water for Kanpur daily needs.