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Ranipet, India
Population:
350,000
Worst Feature:
Heavy Metal Contaminated Ground Water
Best Feature:
Home of The Vellore Institute of Technology
Ranipet, India holds the dubious distinction of having the highest levels of
heavy metal contamination in their ground water in the world, and is on the
Top 10 List of The Worlds Most Polluted places, due to being the long time
home of India’s leather tanning industry.
The mortality rate and life
expectancies in the town are worse than that of Medieval Europe. Asthma,
mental retardation and other birth defects are high among children. If
immediate or early death does not come form drinking the poisoned water,
cancers and other health complications will surely result.
Indian farmers
who must try to eek out a living growing something in this toxic soil, say
that only 1 in 5 crops planted does not fail, and that the foul smells which
come from the very water they use to irrigate their fields is choking "when
we come in contact with the water we get ulcerations on our skins and it
stings like the bites of 100 insects."
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