o A latest government study has found that mining activities in the coal-rich Tamnar area of Chhattisgarh have put the local population, mainly tribal people, at an increased risk of acute respiratory diseases and tuberculosis.
o The study reveals that in the case of tuberculosis, the disease burden rate in Tamnar is nearly double the national rate and almost triple the rate in the state, highlighting the adverse impact of mining.
o However, experts feel a similar story plays out in all resource-rich areas of India where local people suffer in absence of proper checks and balances on mining activities.
Raigarh is one of the crucial places for coal mining in Chhattisgarh, the central-eastern state which accounts for over 18 percent of the country’s coal production. The massive mining is silently taking a toll on the health of those living in and around Raigarh and similar areas.
A recent study that assessed the health of the villagers in Tamnar block of Raigarh, where there are several coal mines, revealed that nearby mining activities have put the “tribal population of Raigarh at increased risk of acute respiratory infection (ARI), tuberculosis, road traffic accident (RTA), etc.” The study was by Madhya Pradesh-based health research institute Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Research in Tribal Health (ICMR-NIRTH) which conducted the cause of death survey in the 33 villages of Tamnar block between December 1, 2018 to November 30, 2019. For health assessment of villagers, the survey 1,713 individuals from 984 households from 33 selected villages of Tamnar block for clinical examination.
According to the study, the investigation included the collection of data on demographic and socio-economic particulars of the households, anthropometry, clinical examination for general morbidity and nutritional deficiency disorders. pulse, blood pressure, random blood sugar were measured.
The study emphasised that apart from environmental health hazards, “undernutrition increases the risk further for various diseases.” It noted that among non-communicable diseases, “cardiovascular diseases were the leading cause of death” while “tuberculosis was the major cause of death in infectious and parasitic diseases category.”
According to the study, hypertension (30 percent) was the leading pre-existing disease followed by diabetes (12.6 percent), stroke (8.3 percent), tuberculosis (4.3 percent), chronic respiratory disease (three percent) and – together contributing to over 50 percent of the disease burden in the area.
It found “excessively high levels of malnutrition among children and adult population in the region.” It held that among the pre-school children “acute respiratory infection/ upper respiratory tract infection (20.9 percent) constituted the most common morbidity” while, among the adults, hypertension (21.8 percent) was found to be the most common morbidity.
The study revealed that the tuberculosis burden among the study population was nearly double (363/100,000 population) the national rate (199/100,000) and triple the notification rate of Chhattisgarh (103/100,000).
The report also found a high rate of prevalence of fungal infection in the people of the area and noted that “various causes such as environment, overcrowding, diabetes mellitus, bathing in contaminated water and poor living conditions may be major factors.”
Rajesh Tripathi of Raigarh-based Jan Chetna Manch, a social group working for the mining-affected people, said the report itself highlights that “Kelo river in Tamnar is polluted due to waste disposal from mining activities.”
“I have been working in this area for about 30 years now – since 1991 – but people of this area that’s crucial for the government in terms of coal reserves, have rarely undergone any health survey. The miners that are active in the area promise in their applications that health facilities will be provided to the local villagers but all that exists on paper only,” Tripathi told Mongabay-India.
In fact, the data from local police reveals that every month, at least 70 people die in road accidents in Tamnar and the leading cause of those accidents is the high traffic of heavy vehicles due to coal mining, Tripathi said.
He noted that an increase in disease burden among people living close to mining areas is not a new phenomenon as repeated studies across India and the world have revealed the same but authorities still don’t take it seriously.
To improve the situation, the study recommended strengthening of the programme for anaemia and malnutrition, improvement in health facilities and filling up of the vacant post of specialist doctors and trained health workers along with laboratory facilities in the community and primary health centres, provision for safe drinking water especially in two villages Mudagaon and Saraitola and intervention programmes for non-communicable diseases especially for hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.
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