ZIRAKPUR: Residents of Nagla village, Escon Arena, Maya Garden, staff of Manav Mangal Smart School in Zirakpur staged a protest on Friday against a red-category industry which has restarted installation of a pipeline illegally for discharging the waste produced in the industrial units. They gathered at Nagla village to voice their concerns.As per the consent letter issued by Punjab Pollution Control Board ( PPCB ), the industry was allowed to operate only after planting at least 1,000 trees per acre along the boundary of the industrial unit, but no trees have been planted till date. The permission to operate was also granted to the industry subject to the conditions that they cannot discharge the effluents into the public sewer. Industries like integrated automobile manufacturing, airports and commercial air strips, and milk and dairy products come under the ‘red’ category.Residents claim the industry is operating in a densely populated area with approximately 15,000 residents living there. There is also a school located within a radius of 1km of the industry. They accused the industry authorities of being apathetic towards the health concerns of the residents who would be exposed to health hazards once the pipeline will be installed. The installation of the pipeline, which had started in November, had to be stopped due to earlier agitations by the residents of the nearby areas.They also complained that the factory is discharging lethal gases without any treatment due to which residents are facing difficulties in breathing. They added that untreated water is also being drained out in the open land around the factory and is being discharged into Ghaggar. They added that Ghaggar’s water is used by residents, in and around the area, for their crops and animals, which is directly endangering their lives.S K Wadhwan, a resident of Zirakpur, said, “The industry is not treating the polluted air and the strong foul smell of skin of dead animals (which is used as raw material by this industry) can be felt in the area. It is difficult for the people to breathe and is a threat to the lives of the people residing in the vicinity of the factories. Manav Mangal Smart School also lies in the vicinity, wherein over 2,000 students.”Wadhwan said the industry has failed to comply with the directions issued by the board, intentionally and deliberately and is violating the directions issued under section 33-A of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and under section 31-A of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 as amended in 1987 vide no. 3931-32 dated July 10, 2018.Residents claimed that NOC for the discharge of its effluents into surface has not been obtained from the sub-group, Udyog Sahayak, Department of Industries, Punjab. Their Effluent Treatment Plan (ETP) and Air Pollution Control Device (APCD) are yet to be operational.After regular and repeated complaints by the residents, directions were issued to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) authorities for disconnection of electricity supply to the industry with immediate effect. The electricity connection was however reinstated immediately without any required changes (as directed by the authorities) in the industry.

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