Vadodara villagers hail GPCB action against Gujarat Refinery

The villagers alleged that the industrial units in Nandesari,which used to dump chemical waste in the Mahi and Mini rivers,have now started dumping waste into the underground bore wells resulting into high level pollutants in the ground water.

“The GPCB has taken a strong stand after the fire in the river,but there is no reason for us to become happy because the damage has already been done. There was a time when we used to reap rich harvests of bajri and castor but now nothing is growing except gando bawal. This is because the industries in the Nandesari industrial area have released their effluents into the river,” said people of Sherkhi village.

Environmental activist said,“Villagers’ allegations are not baseless as many units have used the bores which they had dug for fresh water but the same bore became useless due to the pollution. Now they are doing the reverse boring,in which the water is dumped in a pit,which eventually gets into the borewell.”

Babubhai Patel,chairman of Effluent Treatment Plant,Nandesari Industrial Association,however,said if effluent is dumped into borewells,it would cause harm to the unit owners. “There are about 220 units and everyday we receive about 3,000 Cubic Meters per Day effluents at our Effluent Treatment Plant which has the capacity of 5,500 Cubic Meters per Day. When we have a functional ETP I don’t think any unit owner would indulge into such an activity.”