March 15, 2025: Bihar is facing a severe drinking water crisis, with over 30,000 rural wards affected by contaminated groundwater. The water contains high levels of arsenic, fluoride, and iron, posing serious health risks to residents, including cancer.

The affected areas span across 31 districts, including Buxar, Bhojpur, Patna and Saran. The Bihar govt has acknowledged the issue and is working to address it through initiatives like the “Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal” scheme, which aims to provide safe drinking water to rural households.

If we look at the statistics, there have been arsenic contamination in 4,709 wards, fluoride and iron contamination in 3,789 and 21,709 wards, respectively.

The crisis is severe because the rivers are also drying up. More than 40 rivers have already dried up, according to officials of Bihar Water Resource Department.