Arsenic contamination of drinking water is a major environmental and public-health concern in South Asia, particularly in the alluvial and coastal regions of West Bengal, India. Haldia, an important industrial and urban centre in Purba Medinipur district, is characterized by intensive industrial activity, rapid urbanization, groundwater abstraction and proximity to the coastal environment. The present study was designed to comprehensively assess arsenic contamination in drinking-water sources in Haldia and to evaluate the associated potential human-health risks. Water samples from representative domestic and community drinking-water sources, including groundwater-based tube wells and treated municipal supplies, should be collected from different urban and peri-urban locations and analysed for arsenic together with pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, turbidity, iron, manganese, nitrate, chloride, sulphate, hardness and other relevant physicochemical parameters. Arsenic concentrations should be compared with the World Health Organization guideline value and the Bureau of Indian Standards acceptable limit of 0.01 mg/L. The Central Ground Water Board's recent assessment of the Haldia Industrial Area reported arsenic concentrations ranging from trace levels to 0.098 mg/L, although none of the reported samples were classified as exceeding the stated permissible limit in that assessment. This indicates that localized arsenic occurrence nevertheless warrants continued surveillance, particularly because the maximum observed concentration was substantially above the 0.01 mg/L acceptable level. Human-health risk should be quantified using chronic daily intake, hazard quotient and lifetime cancer-risk approaches for adults and children. The study emphasizes that arsenic risk in Haldia should be evaluated together with other groundwater-quality pressures, including manganese, chromium, lead, salinity and declining groundwater levels. Regular monitoring, source-specific treatment, improved municipal water supply, public awareness and reduction of unnecessary groundwater abstraction are recommended to reduce long-term exposure.