Dhar District

Masru Bai, a 35-year-old woman along with her husband Naval Singh and their three daughters (Radhika, Sonu, and Vishal) and one son, resides in Beedpura village, Gram Panchayat Bakaner (Dhar district). Both Masru Bai and her husband work as labourers to support their family.

In November 2011, the government of Madhya Pradesh sanctioned Rs 493 crore to 37 Urban Local Bodies (ULB) for drinking water supply projects under the Chief Minister’s Urban Drinking Water Supply Scheme (CMUWSS) along the lines of the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT).

Bankpura village is in Mehgaon gram panchayat in Dharampuri block in district Dhar of Madhya Pradesh. It is situated 26km away from the sub-district headquarters, Dharampuri, and 68km away from the district headquarter, Dhar. Dhamnod is the nearest town to this village which is approximately 7km away. It is well connected by roads and railways.

What is the exact problem as regards fluoride contamination in Madhya Pradesh, particularly in Dhar district?

Urmila can neither walk upright, nor run about, nor do her chores easily. She is loved in her parents' house and they do not grudge her the extra care she requires. In rural India, this state of affairs does not last long for a girl, especially since she's only six years old. 

Bandu Singh, a lean old man aged around 60, has spent his entire life living in a small mud house in Kaalapani, a small village located in Manawar block of Dhar district, Madhya Pradesh. Kaalapani has a population of 849 people of which 99.41% (as per Census 2011) are listed as belonging to Schedule Tribes (ST).  

The area

Centre okays Rs 20,000 crore for the 'Namami Gange' programme

Background:

62 million people in India, including 6 million children suffer from fluorosis. The root cause of this is excessive fluoride (>1.5mg/l) in groundwater, as is found in 20 states across India.

Objectives:

This report by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) of the World Bank presents the findings of the baseline and community survey conducted in two districts of Madhya Pradesh (MP) - Dhar and Khargone. The goal of the program is to reduce the risk of diarrhea and therefore increase household productivity by stimulating demand for sanitation in the lives of people. The program also seeks to stimulate the supply of appropriate sanitation program and services by conducting market research and training local artisans to build the relevant facilities.

In India, the program is supporting the Government of India’s (GoI) Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) in two States: Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The main components of the intervention include: Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Social Marketing of Sanitation, Strengthening the Enabling Environment and Nirmal Gram Puraskar (NGP) Awards.