BREATHE AT YOUR OWN RISK

The city has reported five deaths in 19 incidents involving illegal dumping of toxic waste in open drains in the past two years. But GPCB has no mechanism in place to protect lives or environment

Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), which is tasked with protecting the environment, has reduced itself to being a sitting duck.Devoid of mechanism in place to monitor illegal dumping of hazardous chemical waste in the city's industrial areas, the pollution control body depends on citizens and local bodies for assistance. At least five people have lost lives and several affected in as many as 19 incidents involving illegal dumping of toxic waste over the past two years.

Since last October, eight incidents of illegal disposal of waste and toxic materials have been reported in Narol and Vatva. Two persons were killed and eight affected in these incidents. However, GPCB claims it does not have any record of these accidents and has been relying on public vigilance to check these.

Around 10 days ago, a 25-year-old woman died after a company dumped toxic waste in a manhole in Danilimda.When the fire brigade team reached the spot, victim Neelam Parmar was lying unconscious inside a cloth manufacturing company. Firemen said that hydrochloric acid dumped into the manhole produced poisonous gas after it came into contact with water. The gas then flowed through the manhole pipeline into the cloth manufacturing company. Three others were also affected by the noxious fumes and rushed to V S Hospital, where Neelam was declared dead.

`NO ACTION AGAINST OTHER FACTORIES'

She was the breadwinner of her family.Her father passed away eight years ago.Her mother and her sisters survived on the Rs 7,000 she earned as her monthly salary. Her cousin, Bhavesh Kapadia, an advocate with the metropolitan court, said, “The police have yet not been able to locate the owner of the factory that dumped the chemical into the drain. The GPCB simply sealed this particular factory after the incident, without taking action against several other illegal factories located nearby.Such incidents can take place again.Who will be responsible then?“

`NO DATA AVAILABLE

Shockingly, GPCB, which is duty bound to check mushrooming of illegal factories in industrial areas around Ahmedabad, has no record of such incidents. When Mirror asked a GPCB official about measures taken to prevent such incidents, he said, “We do not maintain data of these incidents. Information pertaining to such incidents are with the police that probes the matter. We only carry out the initial investigation and submit the report to the police.“

`PEOPLE SHOULD INFORM US'
According to GPCB, there are hundreds of such illegal factories, but it is in no position to monitor all of them.“These factories operate from small areas and it is impossible for us to regulate all of them. Even if we send workers to all these areas, we will not be able to keep a track of each of them. People should be more vigilant about such factories and inform us in case they notice illegal activities near their premises,“ said Hardik Shah, secretary of GPCB.
In 2015, two persons were hospitalised following suspected ammonia gas leak from one of the factories in Vatva.The primary assessment of the gas indicated that it is ammonia. Following this incident, AMC commissioner D Thara summoned GPCB and fire department officials for a meeting.

“Following the incident, we were asked to submit a map of the industrial area of Vatva to locate areas most prone to such accidents. But nothing has happened about it so far,“ said another officer of GPCB.

GASES CAN CAUSE ASPHYXIATION'
Explaining further, Chief Fire Officer MF Dastoor said that these kind of incidents normally taken place in factories that operate in an unauthorised manner, without seeking proper approvals from AMC, fire department or GPCB.“These companies dump toxic waste in open drains. So when these get mixed with water, they produce deadly gases.These gases affect the concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere and can cause asphyxiation,“ he said.

“To investigate into such incidents, it is essential to know what chemicals are used. In case of Danilimda incident, hydrochloric acid got mixed with methane and got transported to the illegal factory through the drain,“ he added.

SOLUTIONS GET CAUGHT IN RED TAPE

Talking to Mirror, Gopal Krishna from Toxic Waste, an environment NGO with a pan-India presence, said, “The industrial units need to be regulated properly. Several such cases are registered year after year from these same places, but the solutions get caught in red tape. AMC, GPCB and the fire department should act cohesively to clear such illegal factories.“

`LOCAL BODIES SHOULD BE VIGILANT'
Punamchand Parmar, principal secretary, forest and environment department said that it was not only the responsibility of GPCB but also local bodies to be vigilant.

“Local bodies and stakeholders need to be equally responsible when it comes to controlling such activities.GPCB has been monitoring such illegal factories. In fact, I am preparing a plan to put a check on such illegal operations that affect people and environment,“ he said.

`CONVICTION RATE NIL'

“Even citizens should inform GPCB whenever they notice such illegal activities in their areas,“ he added. More shocking is the fact that the conviction rate in such cases is nil. Not a single person has been convicted in the city and the investigation goes on for years.
“It is the responsibility of the courts and the police to follow up on the cases,“ said Hardik Shah, member secretary, GPCB.