1.5-year-old girl battles cancer, Shajapur’s village in shock:MP’s cancer village, where soil and water were tested 12 years ago

In Amlai Patthar village of Shajapur district, Madhya Pradesh, cancer is no longer an unfamiliar word—it is a lived reality. From an 18-month-old toddler to young adults in their early twenties, the disease has cut through generations. Official records show that more than 35 people have died of cancer in the last 10 years in this single village. “Except for this village, no nearby village has such a cancer problem. Here, it has become common,” says Sudha Parmar, Community Health Officer at Amlai Patthar. “Even now, a 22-year-old boy and an 18-month-old girl are battling cancer. Many families don’t even disclose the illness.” Despite the severity, the cause remains unknown. Parmar warns that if systematic cancer screening is conducted, even more cases may surface. How much trouble are people going through in this village due to cancer? To find out, the Bhaskar team reached the village. Here, they spoke with villagers as well as experts. Read the report on World Cancer Day Tests were done, but no answers Back in 2017, when 11 cancer patients were identified simultaneously, the government ordered soil and water testing in the village. The investigation, however, failed to establish any clear cause. Villagers now believe their village has been cursed. To understand their suffering, the Bhaskar team visited Amlai Patthar, spoke to residents and experts, and documented their stories on World Cancer Day. A historic village, now marked by fear Located just 10 km from Shujalpur tehsil headquarters, Amlai Patthar looks like any ordinary village at first glance. But conversations quickly reveal a deep, shared grief. Villagers proudly say this land was once Queen Shakuntala’s maternal home and that it bears witness to the era of the Mahabharata. Ancient idols in old temples and village squares support this belief. “We had everything—history, pride, identity. Now all that’s left is the curse of cancer,”
say the villagers. “35 to 36 people have died” Ravi Sharma, the village employment assistant who has worked here for 13 years, confirms the grim data. “The village population is around 1,835 with about 350 houses. Between 2000 and 2025, around 35–36 people have died due to cancer. Even now, two to three active cases are under treatment.” What worries residents most is that many victims never consumed tobacco or alcohol—challenging common assumptions about cancer risk. Government probes led nowhere Former Sarpanch and husband of the current Sarpanch, Rai Singh Rajput, says the problem is decades old. “We’ve approached the administration many times. Soil and water samples were taken repeatedly. Officials come, inspect, and leave—but nothing changes. No report has ever identified the cause.” Human tragedies behind the numbers Case 1: ₹28 lakh spent, land sold—still lost a brother Chain Singh, a painter, lost his 28-year-old younger brother Ajay to cancer. Ajay ran a mobile repair shop in the village, was married, and had two children. What began as mild back pain turned into a devastating diagnosis at Hamidia Hospital, Bhopal. The family’s desperate fight took Ajay from Bhopal to Ahmedabad, then to Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, over three years. “I kept taking him to Mumbai for three years,” Chain Singh says.
“We spent nearly ₹28 lakh. Tata Memorial helped with ₹12–13 lakh, and Ayushman card covered some costs. We even sold two bighas of land.” Ajay didn’t survive. His widow Sumati Devi says through tears, My husband had no bad habits. I never even saw him eat sweet supari. We still don’t know why he got cancer. She now worries about their 7-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter. Case 2: Lost a sister, now fighting for a son Gajraj Singh Sisodia’s pain spans generations. His 20-year-old son Ankit is battling blood cancer. After initial stomach pain, doctors in Indore diagnosed leukemia. Ankit was rushed to Ahmedabad, where treatment continued for a year. “At one point, he couldn’t even walk,” Gajraj recalls.
“But today, doctors say he’s 99% recovered.” Yet the past haunts him. “Twenty-five years ago, I lost my 12-year-old sister to cancer too.” Doctors raise red flags Local practitioner Dr. Saifuddin says cancer cases are unusually concentrated in Amlai Patthar. “No surrounding village has this many cases. Young people are increasingly affected. Symptoms start with simple pain—stomach, head, back—but soon turn into tumors.” He reveals that in 2017–18, there were 13 active cancer patients at the same time, most of whom have since died. After multiple deaths, authorities conducted surveys and shut down a suspected handpump—but shockingly, another handpump was installed just meters away. CMHO: “I was not aware” When contacted, Shajapur CMHO Dr. Kamla Arya said she was unaware of the cancer cluster. “If such a situation exists, we will visit the village and conduct medical camps,” she said. She speculated possible causes, including high-tension power lines or fluoride in water, but confirmed no detailed investigation had been done recently. No clear data on cancer patients in MP Even at the state level, data gaps persist. Dr. Saloni Sidana, Director at the National Health Mission, Madhya Pradesh, admitted: I do not know how many cancer patients are there in MP. Only cancer registries provide district-wise data. She added that while chemotherapy centers exist in district hospitals, they mostly handle follow-ups or day care. Initial or complex treatments are referred to medical colleges or specialized cancer hospitals.