HOJAI, July 29

HOWRAGHAT, July 17: The Public Health Engineering Department (PHE), Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) in active support of Sum Ronghang, former KAAC CEM and present EM of PHE Department is launching a belligerent drive with the aim to supply potable water for the people of the district.

Cameco, the world's largest uranium producer, has told the Canadian nuclear regulator that its refinery might have leaked uranium, arsenic and fluorides into Lake Ontario. A section of the Port Hope, Ontario, plant of Cameco, the world's largest uranium producer. The plant at Port Hope, Ontario, across the lake from Rochester and down the shore from Toronto, first refined uranium for the Manhattan Project during World War II. It has been temporarily closed since July to remove contaminated soil.

The Brahmani is the second largest river in Orissa. It begins as two rivers - the Shankha and the Koel - from the Chota Nagpur Plateau in Jharkhand and joins the Saraswati at Vedvyas to from the Brahmani. Vedvyas is a sacred place, 9 km from Rourkela, which is a major urban centre - the 2001 census estimated its population at 484,292.

Residents of Bantlapalli in Atmakur mandal of Nellore district have been facing severe drinking water problem for the last few years. The village has 500 people and residents suffer from kidney and skin diseases, many becoming disabled as the water available in the village has high quantity of fluoride content. People who are in their 40s have aged and doctors have been advising them to leave the village instead of going for treatment. People have to walk nearly 1.5 kms to the adjacent Khansahebpet village of Marripadu mandal to fetch drinking water.

Fortyeight-year-old diamond cutter Ravajibhai Rathod living in Sanaliya village of Liliya taluka is unemployed for the last three years. He was a skilful worker, but now due to fluorosis he can neither bend his knees nor walk without a stick.