Font Size 
Slow poison in Meerut village
Published on Mon, May 29, 2006 at 18:14, Updated on Mon, May 29, 2006 at 21:44 in 
Tags: 
Meerut: The air stinks, the earth and water poisoned and disease rampant in Daurala village near Meerut. Over 3,000 people suffer from diseases and hundreds have died in the village because of massive pollution. The villagers blame factories owned by the DCM Shriram group for their misery.
Jagbeer Singh, a farmer, suffers from thyroid cancer. He is so sick that he can't work and has spent his life's savings on treatment. Bedridden, he thinks the end is near.
"The chemicals from the factories are poisonous. They have polluted the entire area," says Singh.
Jagbeer’s doctors say his cancer is the result of deadly pollutants like lead, arsenic and cyanide. These pollutants are in present proportions in the drinking water, the groundwater and the soil.
A distillery, a chemical plant and a sugar mill owned by the DCM Shriram group in area are responsible for the pollution, villagers allege.
As many as 192 people have died in five years because of diseases caused by pollution, says a study done by an NGO called Janhit Foundation. Over 3,000 people suffer from thyroid cancer, skin diseases and respiratory and neurological disorders, it says. Several villagers have left home to escape the pollution.
“The factories use pharmaceutical intermediates and they use cyanide as raw material. Cyanide has been detected in the soil. I am not at all hesitant to say that the deaths have been caused by the industries,” says Rana, a member of the Janhit Foundation.
The DCM Shriram group insists that its factories follow all safety and emission norms. “We have been getting consent (for the factories) regularly from the state pollution control board. The Central Pollution Control Board monitors our anti-pollution schemes. We have taken all steps to ensure that there is no contamination because of the effluents being discharged,” says P V Bakre, Senior Vice-President of DCM Sriram.
The company’s pollution detection tests at IIT Roorkee show that suggest that everything is fine, but Janhit Foundation’s tests on water and soil samples show high levels of arsenic, cyanide, lead and other pollutants.
Villagers say they are caught between claims and counterclaims. The National Human Rights Commission has taken note of the deaths in the area, but the Government is yet to make a move.
| Ads by Google |
| Related Ads: | |
Read Comment | Post Comment
Be the first to comment.