'Slow Poison' documents rural life along the Hindon, a river flowing through the Indo-Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh, India, where discharges from numerous industries enter watercourses and penetrate underground reservoirs, endangering the health of local communities and the environment.

An increasing number of farmers relies on contaminated water for irrigation, affecting the...
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'Slow Poison' documents rural life along the Hindon, a river flowing through the Indo-Gangetic plains of Uttar Pradesh, India, where discharges from numerous industries enter watercourses and penetrate underground reservoirs, endangering the health of local communities and the environment.

An increasing number of farmers relies on contaminated water for irrigation, affecting the yield of their crops and fuelling the recent global food crises. As production and exports in large agricultural countries like India decrease, prices are bound to keep growing, with wheat raising 92% in 12 months.

Discharge in the area is also undermining the prestigious 400m dollars Yamuna and Ganga Action Plans, set by the government to mitigate the pollution of its two major watercourses. Due to the excessive load of contaminants the Hindon river has turned black and cannot sustain life, but joins the Yamuna 260 Km downstream to inject a deadly dose of chemicals into its waters. Similarly, other rivers in the area enter the Ganges instead.

The Hindon runs through hundreds of villages and it is the reason behind various diseases experienced by the locals. A Meerut-based NGO, Jahnit Foundation, is lobbying the government to include the river in the Yamuna Action Plan and has conducted studies on the area producing reports on the conditions of villagers and the surrounding environment.


TEXT AVAILABLE (2000 words)


with a selection of in-field interviews.

Please write to alex@alexmasi.co.uk to request a copy or for more information about this series of images.
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