<\/a>Dr R.G. Sharma, then with the Dr S.N. Medical College, Jodhpur, led a study of the region from 1984-88, the findings of which were published in the Indian Journal of Cancer in September 1992. Sharma and his associates found 2,662 new cancer cases; this was 10 years after the first nuclear tests in 1974. The report suggested that \u201ca major cause of bone malignancy is ionising radiation\u201d, but the doctors cautioned that \u201cno correlation should be made with the Pokhran explosion unless further studies are done\u201d. The incidence of leukaemia was \u201c5.2 per cent for men and 4.7 per cent women, compared to the world figures of 3.3 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively\u201d. The team then advocated that a detailed study must be taken up to determine the role of the 1974 Pokhran nuclear test in this high incidence of bone cancer and leukaemia in western Rajasthan.<\/p>\nA report published by the World Health Organisation, GLOBOCAN, in 2012, concluded that there are five lakh deaths due to cancer in India. A rough calculation suggests that one in 2,500 people in India dies because of cancer. In Khetolai, the same calculation suggests that one in 500 people succumbs to cancer, four times the national average. While experts suggests that cancer could have more than one reason\u2014not just high radiation levels because of nuclear tests\u2014the connection between exposure to radiation and cancer is too well-established to be ruled out.<\/p>\n
A response to an RTI filed last year by Chetan Kothari to the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) under the Department of Atomic Energy revealed in September last year that 70 per cent of the health- related deaths in the atomic energy hubs across the country in the last 20 years were because of cancer. But despite this alarming finding, no further studies were conducted. \nDr Satyajit Rath of the National Institute of Immunology in Delhi says, \u201cIn principle, it is possible that the proximity of the village to the nuclear testing site may be a cause of these adverse medical events but anecdotal reliability is not enough to establish that these nuclear radiations are the reason for this. These incidents should have been a starting point to generate reliable data to study the extent of impact on health and surroundings in the village.\u201d But in the last 31 years\u2014since the first tests in 1974\u2014the government has not cared to commission a study to find out.<\/p>\n
Kavita Srivastava, an activist with the People\u2019s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL) who has worked in Rajasthan for over three decades, says, \u201cThe problem is that all governments have constantly undermined people\u2019s health and shown lack of concern for their economy near the Pokhran region. It is proven by the fact no government has conducted in-depth research to study the impact of radiation on people\u2019s health and on the cattle in so many years.\u201d It is this lack of political will to investigate that many activists like Srivastava find troublesome. Dr N.R. Nayak, the chief medical officer of the district, denies any knowledge of the rise in cancer cases in Pokhran. He says, \u201cWe have no such information about the rise of cancer deaths in the area. It is not true. How can villagers know that the cancer is because of radiation? It is political motivation that makes them say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Villagers are also scared for their farm land. \u201cIn 1974, they gave us Rs 3-4 per bigha. Those who had to give away 500 bighas were given Rs 2,000, which got over in 2-3 years. They assured us that they will give us better land near the canal. Nothing happened. So we are almost landless now,\u201d says a villager. New unconfirmed incidents of land acquisition by the army are being reported again. \u201cRecently, the army has put their signs on four-five agricultural fields, 3-4 bighas each, in Chacha village, in the vicinity of the testing range. The farmers have obtained a stay order from the court and the revenue department is set to measure it again. First, they took away the grazing grounds and now they want the agricultural land. No one answers, no one info\u00adrms,\u201d he says. Prahlad Ram, 70, who retired from the army, complains that leave alone providing proper compensation for the land taken away\u2014or the diseases locals are having to endure\u2014the government hasn\u2019t even opened a decent hospital here. Neeraj had to be taken to Ahme\u00addabad for diagnosis and treatment.<\/p>\n
India is a nuclear power but the people at whose cost it has been possible are not amused. Says Prahlad Ram, who as a former armyman knows the \u2018might\u2019 that nuclear weapons bring a nation, says, \u201cThe nuclear weapons have projected the country as a powerful nation globally. Very good. But what we want to know is why are they choosing our villages again and again for the nation\u2019s development. At the cost of our health, lives and livelihood! Why can\u2019t they leave us alone? Is there no other land left in the country for development?\u201d<\/p>\n
Published by Outlook Magazine on April 18, 2015 \nLink:\u00a0http:\/\/www.outlookindia.com\/article\/The-People-Of-The-Fallout\/294065<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Khetolai, the village closest to the Pokhran nuclear test site, cancer is felling people and cattle. No one cares. Neha Dixit The army jeeps, the fatigues, the big trucks\u2014these things always fascinated Neeraj,\u201d says Ashok Bishnoi, a school teacher, in Khetolai, the village nearest to Pokhran, Rajasthan, where India has conducted nuclear test explosions.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3264,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[103,118],"tags":[],"thb-sponsors":[],"yoast_head":"\n
The People Of The Fallout - Neha Dixit<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n