The shocking colour of water

Water, we were told in school, is colourless, odourless and tasteless in its purest form. But in these villages of Maharashtra's Chandrapur and Jalgaon districts, which still depend considerably on agriculture, water has taken on different and more frightening colours. Fly ash, from thermal power plants in these regions, has rendered a grey-brown colour to streams that run through villages. In Chandrapur, a fresh water tributary of Irai River called Padmapur Nalla has turned a toxic yellow after traveling past the coal-mining blocks of Western Coalfields Ltd. Today the villagers have learnt to live with this predicament. These streams and ponds, saturated with fly ash and pollutants, are the only source of water for daily chores and irrigation. They have made peace with skin diseases and other health problems, as also with lower quality crops and a steep drop in the yield of fish.

More than 80,000 MW of coal-based power plants are being proposed in the state of Maharashtra. Coal besides having high water footprints, is also a major cause of air and water pollution.

This is election season, but will policymakers ever take notice?

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Further reading:
Endangered Waters - Impact of Coal-fired power plants on water supply [PDF]

Captions and photos courtesy of Greenpeace India