The reports of sudden hair loss among people in Maharashtra’s Buldhana district, based on research by a Maharashtra doctor, linking the hair loss with high selenium content found in wheat from Punjab, have drawn a mixed response from experts in the state. As per widely shared news reports, the acute onset of Alopecia totalis among people in Maharashtra’s Buldhana district was reportedly caused by wheat supplied through government ration or public distribution system (PDS) from Punjab and Haryana. Dr Dhanvinder Singh, head of the Department of Soil Science at the Punjab Agricultural University, who has an expertise in soil, water and wheat-based research in the region, said, “It is true that high quantities of selenium were found in the groundwater in a certain area (especially a 1000-hectare region encompassing parts of Hohshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Ropar) of Punjab in a research carried out by my (now retired) colleague Dr KS Dhillon of the same department. However, in a similar research by our department in 2020, which I was also part of, in groundwater samples of 16 districts of state (across Doaba, Malwa and Majha), the selenium content was found to be normal.”
Speaking on the reports of high selenium content in Punjab-based wheat in Maharashtra, Dr Dhanvinder said, “It is true that high level of selenium has been found in the groundwater of certain regions of Punjab in the past, but in my opinion, a more comprehensive study is required to pinpoint wheat from Punjab as the prime cause for balding among the residents. The question is, can wheat consumed over a short period of time be considered as the only cause of the symptoms among residents? Many contributing factors could be responsible like lifestyle, groundwater in that region etc.”
Dr Dhanvinder also said that their department had plans to carry out another research in state in 2025 on wheat after the wheat harvest in April this year.
Umendra Dutt, Director, Kheti Virasat Mission (KVM), said, “If selenium is present in wheat, is it caused by groundwater or pesticides? A larger survey is required in Punjab on heavy metals leeching into groundwater due to intensive sucking out of groundwater reserves owing to paddy farming practices. Secondly, the public disbursal system has scattered grain consumption to myriad states. Maharashtra residents in the first place should consume own grains and staples like maize and millets. The disbursal of state-specific grains to other regions has shortfalls, for example higher cancers in Kashmir valley after rise in food disbursals from other regions. The KVM advocates grow local, eat local — for great health benefits.”
Dr Rohit Mehra, Professor, Department of Physics, NIT Jalandhar, said, “The key question is how scientists/doctors came to conclusion that Punjab wheat was, in fact, responsible for the high selenium content. To test selenium in blood, a selenium meter which uses photo-electric effect, is required. To detect selenium in water or wheat, one would require Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICPMS) or Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AAS). Were these calibrated standard measures adopted for detecting the selenium content.”
Dr Mehra added, “In our own research in the region, selenium hasn’t been found in higher than normal quantities in groundwater.” Kapurthala-based farmer Gian Singh said, “I have been refraining from stubble burning in my fields, but we do use pesticides. All of us consume our local grown wheat, but hair loss hasn’t ever been a feature among farmers here.”
