A severe toxic emergency has erupted in the Ambad area of Nashik, Maharashtra, as laboratory tests confirm that residential groundwater is contaminated with hexavalent chromium at levels more than 1,000 times the permissible safety limit. According to a recent press note by the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), the acute contamination is likely stemming from industrial discharge in the Ambad Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) area, turning local borewell water a bright yellow.
The analysis revealed hexavalent chromium levels of 50.3 mg/L and a total chromium level of 50.5 mg/L, drastically surpassing the Bureau of Indian Standards drinking water allowable limit of 0.05 mg/L. SANDRP explicitly warns that "hexavalent chromium is a Group 1 Human Carcinogen and these levels are comparable to the one of the worst contaminations affecting groundwater and dependent population."
The human cost of this contamination is already devastating. Due to low and inconsistent water supply from the Nashik Municipal Corporation, working-class families have been forced to rely on this polluted water for bathing, washing clothes, and cleaning utensils.
Residents are now suffering from severe and escalating health trauma, including chemical ulcers known as "chrome holes," rashes, and deep, slow-healing blisters. Local activists and SANDRP representatives documented young children with their backs and bodies covered in these lesions, alongside reports of painful, swollen lymph nodes and chronic illnesses among young women.
Alarmingly, two women in the affected settlement have reported suffering spontaneous miscarriages, prompting urgent calls for a medical assessment of the reproductive crisis. Families are reportedly spending nearly half of their monthly income on private medical treatments, alternative accommodation, and wound dressings with no relief in sight.
The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) issued only a routine show-cause notice to a single company on September 30, 2026, after media reports about the yellow water emerged. Furthermore, the MPCB has neither made its water testing data public nor communicated the lethal chemical hazard to the affected residents, leaving the community entirely in the dark.
This localized crisis now threatens to escalate into a massive ecological and public health disaster ahead of the upcoming Kumbh Mela. The toxic plume from the contaminated borewells flows through a local nala directly into the Godavari River. With the auspicious Dhvajarohan for the Kumbh Mela scheduled for October 31, SANDRP cautions that "the discharge of carcinogens into Godavari represents a massive ecological disaster and an unacceptable health risk for millions of pilgrims."
In response to this unfolding emergency, activists and environmental groups have issued a series of immediate demands. They are calling on the Nashik Municipal Corporation and the District Collectorate to cap all contaminated borewells and guarantee daily domestic water tankers for the affected community.
Additionally, they have urged the District Health Department to deploy medical teams for free dermatological, pediatric, and obstetric screenings, alongside specialized wound care. Environmental advocates are also demanding that the MPCB conduct a forensic, cluster-wide inspection of all electroplating, metal finishing, and paint industries in the Ambad MIDC to permanently halt illegal toxic effluent dumping.
Under the "Polluter Pays Principle," responsible industries must be held strictly liable to fund long-term aquifer remediation and community healthcare. Finally, activists are urging authorities to immediately test the Nandini tributary and the downstream Godavari River to assess the full extent of the contamination, alert downstream users, and file formal FIRs against the polluters while securing compensation for the adversely affected residents.
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