There is a saying about the waters of Punjab; folklore suggests that water that flows there is so sweet and healthy that it could help you digest a nail! Rest assured even after a hearty Punjabi meal, you'll be hungry for the next thanks to the digestive properties of the water. However there is some cause for concern as h igh levels of ground water contamination are causing DNA to mutate in people, according to a study. Over a two-year period, researchers have found that poisonous pesticides and heavy metals had entered the food chain. Thus there is a high prevalence of congenital deformities, cancer and kidney damage, the study said. A team of senior doctors from the post-graduate Institute of Medical Education in Chandigarh has conducted the research, which was commissioned by the Punjab Water Pollution Control Board. According to the study, 80% of ground water samples had mercury that was far beyond the permissible level.

Arsenic was found in 70% of samples of effluent, 50% of tap water samples and 57.7% of ground water samples.
A high degree of pesticides had contaminated water in drains in parts of Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Nawanshahr. The Water Pollution Board plans on constantly monitoring the water supply and sewerage, plus involving village councils in the treatment and disposal of solid waste. However there is a need for industries to adopt new technology in extracting ground water. The state has begun implementing a World Bank project to improve water supply and sanitation in the state.

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