Feature: Incidence of cancer on the rise in north Indian state

by Peerzada Arshad Hamid

BHATINDA CITY, India, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Every day at 9:20 p.m., a passenger train leaves Bhatinda railway station in India's northern state of Punjab for the neighboring Rajasthan's Bikaner district.

The train, known here as "India's cancer train", is carrying cancer-stricken patients for the Acharya Tulsi Regional Cancer Treatment and Research Institute in Bikaner. The hospital provides free cancer treatment for indigent families.

The incidence of cancer in Punjab has been surging. A survey carried by Punjab government last year revealed that there are 91 cancer patients for every 100,000 population in Punjab.

The Muktsar district alone recorded an astounding 136.3 patients for every hundred thousand population. The figures are higher than the India's national average of 80 patients for every 100,000.

The startling statistics show that there are 24,659 cancer patients in the state and 87,403 people showed symptoms of the dreaded disease.

The survey revealed 34,430 cancer deaths took place in the north Indian state during 2008 and 2013.

Health department officials in Punjab said entire population of 27.7 million was screened during the comprehensive door-to-door survey.

"The survey is a milestone in the battle against cancer," Vini Mahajan, principal secretary for health in Punjab, said. "It is our earnest hope that the early detection of cancer will allow for easier and cheaper treatment and reduced mortality."

This year, the local government of Punjab launched a "cashless treatment scheme" for cancer patients to provide them monetary assistance up to 2,396 U.S. dollars (INR 150,000) to cover treatment costs.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last month laid the foundation of a cancer hospital in Mohali district of Punjab. Media reports quoted Singh as saying that the hospital would be able to attend to 10,000 new cancer cases and provide treatment to 40,000 old cases annually.

Based on information provided by government, an average of 18 people used to die daily during last five years because of cancer. However, people are saying that the situation now is much worse.

People in villages are suffering from breast, stomach, lung and cervical cancers. The disease is forcing poor villagers to incur debts for treatment of their family members. Some people have sold parcels of land and animals to pay for cancer treatment.

Some observers are saying that the surge in cancer in Punjab could be the trade-off for the state's remarkable success in agricultural production.

Punjab is considered as the food bowl of India. Its farmers, following the introduction of "Green Revolution," used chemical fertilizers and pesticides to help India double its farm yields.

With increasing yields India became a food exporter and was able to overcome its status as "a hungry nation" in the 1960s.

Studies show that extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides over the years has contaminated water sources, food and soil. The hazardous chemicals locals said have seeped into groundwater as well.

"Cancer is a multi-factorial disease," said Chandra Bhushan, the Deputy Director General of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in New Delhi. "There are several reasons for onset of cancer and one of those could be due to exposure to toxins and chemicals in the environment through various routes - air, water, food etc."

CSE is most influential public interest research institution in India.

In 2005, Punjab pollution control board and New Delhi's Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found during their study that pesticide residues in blood samples of people in affected villages of Punjab.

Experts said pesticide exposure is one among many others that could possibly be linked to cancer.

"We found high amount of a cocktail of pesticides in human blood of residents of Bhatinda and near-by where pesticide use was known to be high," Bhushan said. "Exposure to farmers is acute or chronic while application and people in general can be affected by chronic exposure to pesticide-contaminated food."

Studies conducted on water quality of the villages across several districts in Punjab revealed increasing levels of pesticides and other heavy metals in it.

"We did not test ground water in Punjab for pesticides. However, we understand that pesticide on surface can possibly contaminate groundwater," Bhushan said.