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Types of Pollutants Generated in Rajasthan

Rajasthan, the largest state in India, is mainly desert. It is important to India's tourism industry because of its picturesque historical forts and villages. Other industries also thrive in Rajasthan, such as textiles, pharmaceutical production and agriculture. Unfortunately, these industries sometimes generate pollution as a byproduct of their efforts. The distinctive ecosystem of Rajasthan is today being threatened by several harmful pollutants.

  1. Heavy Metals

    • The town of Pali, in Rajasthan, derives most of its local economy from textiles. In 2008, the Center for Science and Environment in New Delhi launched a program to monitor water pollution in Pali. Pali does have water treatment plants that are supposed to filter toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, chromium and lead out of the local water. However, water samples showed these plants were not doing their jobs. The center handed out water testing kits to local farmers, so they could take matters into their own hands.

    H-acid

    • H-acid is used in dying textiles. It imparts a bright red color that does not easily fade after a wash. In 1983, a manufacturer of H-acid was found to have contaminated the groundwater in the village of Bichri, near the city of Udaipur in Rajasthan. Because of the natural movement of groundwater to other aquifers, wells used by approximately 10,000 villagers in 22 nearby villages were affected. Decades later, the groundwater in Bichri's vicinity is still crimson and corrosive.

    Marble Slurry

    • Another important industry in Rajasthan is marble cutting, which employs artisans and laborers in cities such as Jaipur and Udaipur. However, this industry creates an unpleasant byproduct: marble slurry, a white, nearly indestructible waste that erodes topsoil, contaminates water resources and is a visual blight on the landscape. Locals have devised the solution of marble recycling, which reuses marble slurry as a substitute for clay bricks in construction, once it has been combined with other materials such as cement.

    Industrial Effluents

    • Other industrial chemicals, known as effluents, have been detected in Rajasthan's Bandi River. This contaminates local groundwater wherever the river flows. Soil irrigated with this water tends to be high in saline, and local plant life has declined precipitously. This makes it nearly impossible for farmers to plant double crops. This chain of results demonstrates the pollutants in Rajasthan affect not only its natural biodiversity, but the livelihoods of its inhabitants as well.

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