In certain areas of Varanasi city, waste water from Dinapur sewage treatment plant is used for irrigating vegetable plots. We quantified the concentrations of heavy metals, viz. Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in soil, vegetables and the waste water used for irrigation. The waste water used for irrigation had the highest concentration of Zn followed by Pb, Cr, Ni, Cu and Cd.