MARGAO
Cuncolkars have been left to wonder how come smoke from the factories operating at the Cuncolim Industrial Estate does not find its way out through the industrial chimneys and furnaces, but is found around the industrial units.
Have these industrial units failed to install the Anti-Pollution Control Device (APCDs) inside the factory premises? Or, are these APCDs not functioning as per the norms in force for want of maintenance or is it simply that these pollution control devices are not in operation since it involves huge cost of running these devices and unscrupulous owners preferring to save the operation cost on them?
These and other questions on pollution have come back to haunt Cuncolkars waging a sustained battle against pollution in the Cuncolim Industrial Estate over the years.
A visit to the Cuncolim IDC would greet one with smoke settled down over the entire area when the smoke ought to have gone out of the units via the furnaces dotting atop the units, throwing up a simple question why is the smoke, instead of moving out through the chimneys, comes out of the industrial sheds through the roof and the side openings.
This is not the first time the locals have come across smoke not finding its way out of the industrial furnaces at the Cuncolim Industrial Estate.
A local resident Shantanu Desai pointed out that the smoke is all settling down over the industrial estate and polluting the environment simply because the owners are not complying with the anti-pollution norms. “Just descend at the Paroda hillock and one would come across a thick layer of smoke enveloping over the Cuncolim Industrial Estate. Why is this happening time and again? Where is the Goa State Pollution Control Board and other authorities to check pollution,” he has demanded to know.
Cuncolim-based veteran journalist Kamlax Prabhugaonkar echoed similar sentiments and warned that people of Cuncolim will be left with no option than to take law in their hands to enforce pollution control norms. “We have come across instances of lung and skin diseases amongst the elderly and young population inhabiting around the Cuncolim Industrial Estate. This is a serious issue and needs a serious answer. The Goa State Pollution Control Board should find out why is the smoke from these factories not moving out of the chimneys but is seen around the units,” he demanded.
When The Goan called up Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) Member Secretary Dr Shamila Monteiro to shed light on the blanket of smoke around the industrial units at the Cuncolim IDC, she said the GSPCB is conducting an environment audit of the industrial units across the State. “We have started the exercise of conducting the environment audit. Teams will also visit the Cuncolim IDC to take stock of the pollution while conducting the audit,” she said.
Sources in the know, however, say the GSPCB should crack a whip against the erring industrial units violating the smoke control norms resulting in air pollution. “If the GSPCB is serious in controlling pollution, officials should conduct surprise raids to ascertain the ground reality and punish the erring units,” sources said.
An official in the know told The Goan that if smoke from the factories is not finding its way out of the chimneys and furnaces, there’s a reason behind it. He said the units are mandated to install Anti-Pollution Control Devices (APCDs) attached to the chimneys to ensure that the smoke finds its way out as per the norms.
“In instances where the smoke comes out of the roof and other openings of the industrial sheds, it is clear the APCDs are not in operation. Take note, the APCDs are operated with electricity. Hence, many an unscrupulous factory owner must have not put the APCDs to use to save the power bill and on maintenance,” the official pointed out.
Says social activist, Dr Jorson Fernandes: “Smoke from the factories at the Cuncolim IDC is not moving out through the chimneys since the owners are not operating the devices, including the fans. In the past, we had got the units raise the height of the chimneys as per the laid norms. The height of the chimneys have not been raised, hence the smoke is not moving out because they do not operate the same because it involves huge electricity bill.”
Dr Jorson demanded the GSPCB put in place an inbuilt mechanism at these factories to monitor the operations round the clock and protect the people and the environment from pollution.
