Bathinda: A nuclear physicist, Hardev Singh Vir, would be conducting an independent study on the source of uranium and to ascertain whether it is to blame for the high incidence of cancer cases in the area. For the study, Dr Virk has collected drinking water samples from several villages, including Bhagi Vandar, Jaga Ram Tirath, Jajjal, Giana and Malkana, in Talwandi Sabo block of the district. “We have collected 12 samples from different sources, including hand pumps, tubewells and a well at Dera Natha in Giana village. At several places, we found hand pumps that the villagers claimed to have abandoned suspecting them to be the source of cancer,” said Dr Virk, a professor emeritus at the Eternal University Baru Saheb in HP. Dr Virk said these samples would be sent for analysis to Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar and to labs at Chandigarh and Mangalore. “We want to ascertain the exact cause of cancer so that corrective measures could be adopted,” Dr Virk, who has earlier studied radon and thoron levels in Punjab and Chandigarh under a Bhabha Atomic Research Centre research programme, said.