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| Industrial units run without treatment plants, PCB assumes criminal silence | | | Vinod Sharma
Early Times Report
Jammu, Sept 16: Under the alleged official patronage of officials of Jammu and Kashmir State Pollution Control Board (JKSPCB), over two dozen industries in Kathua industrial area have been running without treatment plants, or are not using them, but officials have adopted criminal silence due to reasons best known to them.
Sources informed Early Times that various types of industries were operational in industrial area Kathua, polluting air, water and other natural resources of the area. Sources said that SPCB is very much aware about the blatant violations of pollution control norms but has deliberately turned dumb.
A resident of Hatlimorh, Ravi Kumar said that now-a- days the Hatli Morh industrial area has extended from Hatlimorh to village Maroli and pollution level had grown manifolds but PCB has failed to take action against violators.
"May factories consume large quantity of water and drain untreated polluted water into nearby rivulets due to absence of water treatment plants", he said, adding that huge quantity of black contaminated water was found entering in Magar Khad and other small rivulents and the contaminated water ultimately entered into Ravi river.
Zakir Hussain, a resident of Jagatpur said that many nomadic families were settled along banks of river Ravi and they used to bring their cattle to Ravi river for drinking water. "But at present the water of river Ravi is not fit for drinking of animals because foul smell emanates from water, which has turned black in colour", he said.
An official pleading anonymity alleged that district administration as well as Pollution Control Board officials were aware of the fact that large number of industries were operating without treatment plants and several others were deliberately not using the treatment plants, as it increased their production cost, so by greasing the palms of concerned officials, they have been saving huge money by openly playing with health of masses .
"The PCB officials are hand in glove with the factory owners and have given free hand to them and these factory owners have been giving huge commission even to higher officials and are blatantly polluting", he said.
Executive Engineer of Flood Control Kathua, Sanjeev Malhotra said that the custodian and owner of Magar Khad was the Revenue department and they were only concerned with the banks of rivulet. "Only Revenue department or Pollution Control Board can take action against the factory owners", he said.
Tehsildar Kathua, Avtar Singh Jasrotia said that it was a serious issue and Pollution Control Board authorities must take action against the erring factory owners. He assured that he would bring the matter into the notice of Deputy Commissioner Kathua.
District Officer PCB, Hansraj evaded most of queries on the contaminated water entering Magar Khad rivulet and said that Union government should install a big treatment plant so that no untreated water would entered into any rivulet.
He said that CTM was the major contributor of polluted water and they had taken samples few days back and if sample were found positive, action would be taken. |
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