Source and mobilization mechanism of arsenic contamination in Manipur, Northeast India

India is one of the fastest economic growing and second-largest country by population. More than 75% people are living in rural areas and engage with agricultural activities for livelihood. A significant portion of the revenue comes from agriculture which cause ignorance in follow the guideline to get more yield. The supply of good quality food and drinking water are the necessity for economic and social health welfare of urban and rural population. In this study, we have observed that the groundwater quality is being degrading due to improper implementation of the rules and regulation. Twenty three groundwater sample were analyze for arsenic and trace elements contamination. The arsenic content in groundwater ranging from 10 to 780 µg/L, which is far above the levels for drinking water standards prescribed by World Health Organization (WHO). For identify the provable source of the contamination, four soil sample were analyzed and observed arsenic content ranging from 110 to 190 mg/kg. Rice is the staple food and ultimately cultivating the paddy crop on more over 80% of the agricultural land. The Paddy crop requires a large amount of water, ultimately maintain the waterlogging condition in the agricultural field. This waterlogging condition is providing a long time to get dissolution of the arsenic bearing minerals present in the soil. This study concluded that the traditional practicing of continuous growing paddy crop in the same field leading to groundwater contamination. The crops cycling could be a better option for reducing the contamination at a local scale.