Chosar youths’ toxic troubles

There are close 2,500 units in Ahmedabad district that are on GPCB’s watch. The GPCB has stepped inspection of the units.

During inspection, GPCB checks the function of units’ incenerator, log books, production data, waste storage and sell of waste. 10 officers of GPCB’s Ahmedabad team are currently on an inspection spree.


GPCB ends Chosar
youths’ toxic troubles

Dilip Patel

The marriage prospects of Chosar village’s youths that had sunk in the toxic waste flowing near the hamlet may finally resurface. The Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) on Wednesday slapped closure notices on four chemical units which were sending untreated effluents to the village through the Kharikat Canal. All the four units are located in Vatva GIDC.

Mirror reported last month how increasing ground and water pollution in Chosar, situated 30 km from Ahmedabad, had earned the village tag of a “chemical-dumping zone” and ruined several youths’ chances of finding brides. Lately, the problem has forced many families to permanently move out of the village to help their sons, some aged above 30, break the bonds of bachelorhood.

The GPCB, which had received complaints about illegal discharge of effluents in the canal, served the notices on the four units — Parshvanath Dyes Spray Ltd, Associated Dyes Stuff, Anaar Chemical Industries and Matang Industries — after a thorough probe. It also despatched similar notices to four other chemical factories that were either violating emission norms or dumping toxic waste in Ahmedabad’s drainage lines.

An official of the GPCB, who didn’t want to be named, said that it had asked the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and Torrent Power Ltd to cut water and electricity supply, respectively, to all eight units. The four factories that have caused marital and health crises in Chosar used to release effluents with high acid content in the Kharikat Canal.

“These units were required to pass chemical waste either through an incinerator or a effluent treatment plant before discharging it,” the official said. “The exercise was proving to be costly, so they started directly dumping toxic waste in the canal.”

A team of pollution control body’s Ahmedabad division kept a watch on the units, and caught their tankers either illegally releasing effluents or heading towards the Kharikat Canal to do so. The tanker of Associated Dyes Stuff, in fact, was reportedly found in Chosar last month.

“We will not spare any factory that affects people’s lives by causing pollution,” a member secretary of the GPCB, R J Shah, said. “Associated Dyes Stuff used to produce 4.5 tonnes of toxic waste every month. We are trying to find out how much of this it released in the canal.”

GPCB will take an undertaking and bank gurantee from the eight units.

“Any unit that is caught discharging untreated effluents in water bodies will be pulled up,” state environment department, principal secretary, S K Nanda, told Mirror. “GPCB is keeping a watch at different points of Kharicut canal and AMC’s mega water supply line. Most illegal discharge of toxic waste occurs in night.”

Dani Limda units: (1) Liza Enterprise Pvt Ltd used dump in drainage, produces cellulose powder. It’s tanker was caught dumping waste. (2) Arbuda Chemicals, produces organic chemicals. It’s tanker was caught dumping in drain.

Akar Traders and Vini Overseas are located in the city. They produce dyes. The units caused air pollution.