Cancer deaths: ‘Smart village’ residents seek soil & water testing

NOIDA: The residents of Maincha village in Sector Ecotech 11 have submitted an application to the additional district magistrate to conduct an enquiry and their medical testing, as well as testing of water and soil samples from the village, following eight deaths due to throat cancer from 2021. Last year, Maincha became the first “smart village” in Greater Noida.
Aditya Bhati, a resident of the village and an advocate, said, “The village has a population of more than 5,000 currently and was declared the first smart village in 2021. Unfortunately, the village has seen not one but eight deaths due to cancer in the last year. Since we are clueless about the causes of the disease, we have requested the senior officials to intervene and take necessary steps to control the alarming situation.”
Devraj Tawar, an agriculturist and a resident of Maincha village, told TOI, “I lost my 50-year-old brother Hemraj a few days ago to oral cancer. He was a non-smoker and never consumed any form of tobacco, but suddenly, he developed an abnormal growth in his mouth in January this year, and within a few months, his cancer got into an advanced stage, and he died. The village has over 15 families with cancer patients, and several deaths due to the disease have taken place in the last year. This needs to be checked by the health department.”
Additional district magistrate Nitin Madan said, “The residents have handed over an application, addressing the chief minister, claiming that people have died due to cancer in the village. The residents requested soil and water tests. A copy of the application has also been marked to the chief medical officer, seeking a health camp and screening of the locals for further investigations.”