Jajjal village – where people prefer saving village’s reputation than combating Cancer

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Jajjal village – where people prefer saving village’s reputation than
combating Cancer

Jupinderjit Singh
Tribune News Service
Jajjal (Bathinda) August 31

Residents of this village, which is considered the worst hit by cancer
in the Malwa belt, prefer saving the village's reputation over
combating the dreaded disease.

The village is the 'address' for researchers, government and media to
understand the spread and cause of cancer in the cotton belt of
Punjab. Just last month, a high-powered team of Parliamentarians
visited the village to take stock of the ground situation.

Yet, the common mood among residents is to deny the disease or try
their best to hide it or finally argue that cancer cases are being
reported from all over the world.

Villagers were quite hostile towards media teams visiting them. A
Chemist lost his temper at the first mention of the disease. “Go away
from here. Media and others bring bad name to our village. There are
no cases here,” he shouted.

A religious preacher, Baba Gian Dass explained the anger, “ Villagers
face difficulty in marrying off their children. Cancer has become a
social taboo for them.”

He agrees the problem of cancer cases was grave,“ I have recorded 37
deaths, 13 of which were females.” He showed documents supporting the
claims.

He alleged the government has not done much. “The RO plant was
installed only after we raised hue and cry. However, it is not
functioning properly. They are taking ground water for purification
instead of canal water.”

Jarnail Singh, a retired government teacher, who was the first to
raise the issue of cancer a decade ago agreed. “Villagers often
disrupt our speeches. I was not allowed to talk much before the team
of parliamentarians.”

"The general mood in the village is of denial. The apparent causes of
cancer- the pesticides, the heavy metals in the undergorund water,
the uranium and chemicals used in agriculture are still being used.
There is no effort to go for organic farming. People don’t seek
medical attention immediately if someone suffers from an illness. Even
a cousin of mine hid it from me."

He also featured in Amir Khan's 'satyamev jayate' recently to talk
about spread of cancer in Punjab. He claimed as per his records there
were 55 deaths due to cancer and about ten were under treatment.

Though scientists are non-conclusive on cause of cancer, Jarnail Singh
feels it was because of over use of fertilisers and chemicals, “ Our
farmers use most deadly degree of poison. However, farmers in Gujarat,
which is also a cotton belt use the least degree of insecticides and
pesticides. They are not suffering from cancer at our rate.” He said
quoting his visits to Gujarat.

The village Sarpanch, Najjar Singh, said it was true that the media
reports brought disrepute to the village. “We feel our village is
singled out when one talked of cancer. However, we do not stop anyone
from talking about the problem.”

District Health Officer Dr R S Randhawa, said the village has shown
more cases than other places, “However, our recent door to door survey
shows there were 21 deaths so far. Seven persons were under treatment.
Some people may have lied in the survey.”

The village had almost all kinds of cases. However, Uterus and breast
cancer was common among women and throat, stomach and prostate cancer
cases were recorded among men.
EOM