Survey around Zira distillery links ailments to toxic water
BATHINDA: : Complaints of ailments from the vicinity of Zira’s distillery and ethanol project in Ferozepur district of Punjab have prompted medical charity 5 Rivers Heart Association to study the residents’ health parameters based on a door-to-door survey and come out with a shocking report.
This pollution report called ‘Black Revolution ’ assesses the health profile of 4,885 individuals, 51.3% of them men and 48.7% of them women, all from rural areas where 38.8% of the adult population had self-reported chronic diseases, with an increased risk of 8.86% in overall burden of cardiovascular, neurological, dermatological, and respiratory diseases. Hypertension affects 39% of the population, diabetes 31%, and CVD 34%. Within the area, 21.3% of the households had reported at least one heart attack, 9.3% had reported at least one stroke, 20.8% had at least one case of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or other lung disorders, even though most patients claimed to be non-smokers.
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