Groundwater that glows yellow-green in U.P.

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Water from a handpump seen yellow as land nearby/beneath suffers from heavy metal contamination with highly toxic hexavalent chromium at Shivnathpura Village situated in the Akbarpur tehsil of Kanpur Dehat district in Uttar Pradesh. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

Patches of earth streaked a fluorescent greenish-yellow flank of National Highway 19 that connects the Kanpur Nagar and Fatehpur districts in Uttar Pradesh. Off the highway, a culvert also has yellow leaching on it. On the dirt road towards Chhiwali village in Fatehpur, the markings persist. They lead to Daya Devi’s home, down a mud path.

Land suffers from heavy metal contamination, as hazardous basic chrome sulphate sludge has been dumped in the area, turning the soil yellow near Chhiwali Village in the Fatehpur district in Uttar Pradesh. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

Part of the concrete roof of 40-year-old Devi’s two-room house is falling in. That’s not her only problem, though. The mother of two children is more worried about her stomach pains and digestion.

Land nearby and beneath the road suffers from heavy metal contamination, as hazardous basic chrome sulphate sludge has been dumped in the area leaching into groundwater and contaminating hand pumps with highly toxic hexavalent chromium and making soil yellow near Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

“The doctor told me it is a liver infection. That was a month ago, and I’m still taking medicines,” she says, touching her abdomen. “My stomach doesn’t feel alright and I have to use the toilet about three times a day.” She also has rashes running along the length of both her hands, which she says “itch a lot.” Many others in the village have similar health problems.

In the inner courtyard of Devi’s house, her son works a hand pump. Fluorescent yellow water flows into a white plastic bucket. “ Yahan poora chemical hi aata hai (Here, only a chemical flows),” a woman outside Devi’s house says. She and Devi blame the water for their health conditions.

A resident of Abhaypur in Fatehpur district describes her woes as the village suffers from hazardous waste contamination. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

In about a dozen areas of three districts of Uttar Pradesh — Fatehpur, Kanpur Dehat, and Kanpur Nagar — the groundwater has been contaminated by the chemical chromium (VI), or hexavalent chromium, as per State government data. Over the last five years, the government has collected the blood samples of the people living in the affected areas. A 2025 government report of these blood tests reveals that 73-96% have above-permissible levels of chromium (VI).

Land turned yellow due to heavy metal contamination near the Kanpur district in Uttar Pradesh. | Photo Credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap

A report by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which handles environmental disputes, says chromium (VI) can cause stomach ulcers and cancers and severe damage to the kidney and liver.

Chromium is a naturally occurring hard greyish metal found in rocks and soil.