Bhubaneswar: Having reported the highest number of cancer incidences, Bargarh district in western Odisha has now come under the radar of oncologists and policy makers. Debate is on whether the region is turning into ‘Punjab of Odisha’ and whether or not the cases are linked to excess use of pesticides and fertilizers.
A study published by three doctors from the VIMSAR, Burla – Dr Kabita Manjari Majhi, Dr Ashok Kumar Panigrahi and Dr Ankita Panigrahy, claims that Bargharh reported the highest number of cancer cases during 2014-17 among 34 districts of Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. As high as 26.34 per cent of the people in the region visited government hospitals for cancer treatment, the study pointed out.
On the other hand, some reports hinted that the high incidence of cancer in Bargarh was associated with excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This has resulted in a debate whether there is a link between the deadly disease and rampant use of fertilizers and pesticides.
Several leading oncologists claim that there is need for an evidence-based epidemiological study to prove the claims of the disease’s association with use of excessive pesticides and fertilizers in the district. Incidentally, Bargarh is known as the ‘rice-bowl of Odisha’ and farming is omnipresent in the rural areas of the district.
“There is need for further study to prove the claims such association. While it has been proved that presence of chemical pesticides in food items can damage the DNA and this eventually leads to cancer among humans, we need more case-based studies to come to a conclusion,” said Dr Sourav Kumar Mishra, an oncologist at AMRI Hospital, Bhubaneswar.
Madhabnanda Kar, a surgical oncologist at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar, also batted for further study but claimed that studies in the past have linked presence of excess pesticides and fertilisers to higher cases of cancer in places like Bathinda in Punjab.
Some reports suggest that in many rural areas of Bargarh people in many families have been inflicted by the deadly diseases over generations. As the number of patients from the area visiting other cities for cancer treatment has been increasing alarmingly, Odisha Chief Minister recently announced opening a new cancer hospital at Bargarh.
In the wake of media reports linking pesticide use and cancer cases in Bargargh, a team from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) visited the district and decided to undertake a study on the issue to come to a conclusion. ICMR, Regional Unit at Bhubaneswar, however, did not respond to the queries posed by this reporter.
Manish Kumar, OP