LUCKNOW, March 9 -- A year-long scientific assessment at the Betwa-Yamuna confluence in Hamirpur district has found arsenic and other heavy metals at levels that may pose health risks, particularly to children, prompting calls for urgent source control and seasonal monitoring. The findings come from researchers at the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow.

The study examined the confluence of the Betwa, a tributary river, and the Yamuna, one of the major rivers of north India and a key tributary of the Ganga. The two rivers meet in Hamirpur district, forming an important hydrological and ecological zone where water from separate catchments mixes and flows downstream.

Scientists analysed monthly samples collected between June...