Dinesh Kamath's news 'Stop farmers from growing and cleaning vegetables in unclean water' that was published in Newsband

Stop farmers from growing and cleaning vegetables in unclean water

By Dinesh Kamath

NAVI MUMBAI: There were complaints received by civic health and sanitation department that dirty drain water was being used to water the vegetables. Just recently the authorities had taken action at Nerul where the motor pump and pipe were used for supplying dirty storm water drain to a farm growing leafy vegetables. The residents who had witnessed the farmers using unhygienic means to water the farm were disgusted and reported the matter to civic body. 

There are farmers growing and cleaning vegetables in Gutter Water before selling them in the market. This practise is dangerous for those city residents who consume the vegetables. Children especially can be worst affected.

There could exist bacteria and parasites in the leafy vegetables which are grown in drain water by the farmers. The drain water could contain algae and faecal matter. Scientist had a look at these vegetables through the microscope, and they were shocked to find the presence of bacteria and parasites in them. They had used the samples of radish and spinach that are sold in the market.

A city resident who had been researching into the vegetables available in the market said, “At the farming spots I found that the plots are irrigated with water from pumps which draw it from mucky gutters that often contain sewage from nearby toilets. After the harvest, the vegetables are washed in the same mucky ponds and gutters to clean them. The water bodies being used for farming and washing are breeding grounds for a large number of parasites and bacteria. The analysis confirmed that the water samples showed the presence of coliform and E coli bacteria. Many of these farms are along train tracks with an evidently questionable source of water - the drain nearby - which is downright poisonous for humans. The lab report suggest the presence of the fatal E coli and yeast in the vegetables, among other contaminants. Radish, Spinach, Fenugreek (methi), Amaranth (chauli) Coriander (cilantro or dhania) etc are grown over a long stretch of railway land. Men and a woman are seen scrubbing radish, spinach and fenugreek in a squalid artificial pond. A huge stack of farm produce lay beside each of them, as they cleaned the vegetables in the muddy water. Waste water from the toilet is discharged into the gutter which spews it into the pond. After being scrubbed and cleaned, the vegetables are placed on a gunny rag of jute. This is then wrapped and transported, without being cleaned any more. At one place the impure water carried all sorts of waste including the carcass of a stray dog. Just imagine that the farmers found that as the only source of water for cultivation.”

The plots are irrigated with water from a diesel-run pump which draws it from a mucky gutter. The final produce is cleaned in the same pond near the station where local slum dwellers bathe and wash.

One farmer was spotted connecting a hosepipe to the gutter from where the water is drawn in. Even coconut and mango trees grow near dirty lakes. It is not just vegetables that grow in gutter water. The farmers defend themselves by saying that they do not have any other source of water. According to them they have been using this water for other chores as well.

Some farmers are educated enough to take precautions. There are farmers who get subsidies and training from the government while others have picked the tricks of the trade from their fathers.

The railways, under the 'grow more food programme', has allotted plots from its surplus land resources for cultivation against a nominal fee. One of the railway official said that if people had any problem with the produce, they had a choice to go to the supermarket or other vendors.

Kharghar-based NGO Maza Bharat Samajik Sanstham, showed concern about dirty water being used for growing and washing vegetables. They filed a case in the court and even complained to the railway authorities but in vain.

One can’t blame the farmers since they are not provided clean water or any irrigation facility owing to which they are forced to use water flowing through sewer lines and pumped out by chemical factories. They are more concerned about their daily living and ignore the health hazard posed by their method of growing and washing vegetables which are consumed by the city residents.

The vegetables grown on railway track areas in Panvel and Juinagar were found to have contained heavy metals like zinc, lead and even arsenic.

Vegetables are common food of most of the city residents and hence such unclean way of dealing with vegetables adopted by the farmers can pose serious health problems. Something drastic should be done by both local and state government to stop the use of unclean water for growing and cleaning vegetables.