Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra Steps In to Eradicate the Arsenic Epidemic in Jharkhand’s Schools

Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra Steps In to Eradicate the Arsenic Epidemic in Jharkhand’s Schools

Ranchi. 30 July 2026: For decades, the water in Sahebganj’s schools ran the colour of wet earth. “The colour of the water was muddy, or turbid,” recalls Anita Kumari, a teacher at UHS Sriramchowki. Children complained of stomach aches long after drinking it, though no one in the village could say exactly why. In a school pressed against the Bihar-Jharkhand border, that murky water was simply how things were.

Sahebganj is the only district in Jharkhand through which the Ganga flows, and the river has left its mark below the surface. Arsenic seeped into the groundwater here decades ago, quietly and gradually, becoming part of a larger environmental challenge that communities often struggled to detect. Its affects the surface slowly, sometimes after years of exposure, making it difficult for families to connect recurring health concerns with the water they had consumed every day.

Today, that reality has changed for more than 3000 students studying across nine schools in Sahebganj. Through an initiative led by Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, in collaboration with the Asha & Sajjan Agarwal Foundation, five-stage arsenic removal filters have been installed at Govt. Middle School Fudkipur, Swami Vivekanand High School Sridhar, UMS Sarpanch Tola, M.S. Kishan Prasad, UPG Govt. M.S. Samda, UPG PS Shantinagar Ghoghi, UHS Sriramchowki, PM SHRI Nagarpalika Kanya, and a CM School of Excellence. Across these campuses, what was once a daily health hazard has been completely neutralized, with pure, life-saving water now flowing continuously for thousands of students and teachers.

The transformation began with a journey from Ranchi to some of Jharkhand’s most underserved communities. Dr Kirti Avishek, Associate Dean of Infrastructure and Planning, travelled alongside Dr Vishal H. Shah from the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering and research scholar Akash, nearly ten hours by road, to the grassroots grographies of Jharkhand. Working with the Asha & Sajjan Agarwal Foundation, itself established by a BIT Mesra alumnus, the team installed these Blue filters in some of the district’s worst-affected pockets.

They did not call it done after installation. Testing on the ground confirmed the filters were doing what they were designed to do, and the difference showed up in more than laboratory readings.

“After the blue filter was installed, the situation is no longer like that,” says Kumari. “It has become very good, and everyone is enjoying it.”

At PM SHRI Nagarpalika Kanya School, science teacher Aniket Kumar had watched arsenic’s effects surface in nearby villages for years and knew what prolonged exposure could do. Post installation, he tested the water himself.

“The carbonate element is completely gone,” he said.

Clean water should not depend on geography. In Sahebganj, BIT Mesra’s intervention has ensured that for thousands of students, something as basic as drinking water no longer carries uncertainty.

For BIT Mesra, the intervention reflects a commitment that extends beyond its campus in Ranchi. Since 1955, the institute has built its reputation through engineering and scientific advancement, and initiatives such as this demonstrate the application of research, technical expertise and institutional networks to challenges faced by grassroots communities across Jharkhand.