While Bihar faces a severe public health threat from widespread arsenic, fluoride, and toxic elements polluting its water, soil, and food, a dedicated team of scientists in Patna is working tirelessly to find a sustainable solution. Their efforts, centered at the Environmental Biology Laboratory of Patna Science College, are providing a crucial beacon of hope for communities living with chronic contamination.
The Silent Threat in Food and Water
Leading the research, Shardendu, a retired botany professor from Patna Science College, highlights that the danger extends far beyond contaminated drinking water. He explains that arsenic, naturally present in groundwater, enters the food chain through irrigation. It then accumulates in staple crops like rice, wheat, potatoes, and even leafy vegetables and mushrooms. Alarmingly, foodgrains often contain more arsenic than the water itself.
Consuming these contaminated foods leads to arsenic poisoning, or arsenicosis, a condition caused by the accumulation of the toxin in the body, which can result in a range of serious diseases, including cancer. This makes ensuring food safety just as critical as providing clean drinking water.
Nature's Own Solution: Bioremediation
While traditional solutions like filters or water treatment exist, Professor Shardendu's team is focusing on a more promising and natural alternative: bioremediation. This approach leverages living organisms to clean up contamination. It is an environmentally friendly, socially acceptable, and potentially cost-effective green technology.
The strategy involves using plants and microorganisms that naturally tolerate and accumulate arsenic. Researchers at the lab have already identified specific arsenic-resistant bacteria living in the rhizosphere (root zone) of plants. These remarkable bacteria not only survive in toxic conditions but also help plants grow and, crucially, enhance the extraction of arsenic from the soil.
A Path to Safer Harvests
"Associated with the rhizosphere, these bacteria help plants draw arsenic out of the soil," Shardendu stated. This discovery is the cornerstone of their mission to develop arsenic-free food crops that can be cultivated in contaminated regions of Bihar.
The laboratory has reported considerable success in its ongoing work, demonstrating that science-driven, nature-based interventions can play a pivotal role in tackling one of the state's most persistent environmental and health challenges. Developing these resilient crop varieties stands as the most effective long-term remedial measure, offering a ray of hope for a healthier future in affected areas.
