‘Zira liquor unit survey completed, report being made’
A total of 13 samples were taken, out of which two were soil samples and the rest were water samples from inside the liquor unit and from different villages, Setia added.
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“The four different committees formed to study various aspects pertaining to the Zira liquor unit and its health impact on villagers have completed their field work. As many as 13 samples related to soil and water have been sent to three different laboratories and their test reports are awaited,” Setia said.
The survey to study various aspects affecting the health of villagers in and around the liquor unit in Mansurwal village of Zira constituency has been completed and now the work to compile the report is going on. This was confirmed by Sagar Setia, additional deputy commissioner Ferozepur, while talking to The Indian Express.
“The four different committees formed to study various aspects pertaining to the Zira liquor unit and its health impact on villagers have completed their field work. As many as 13 samples related to soil and water have been sent to three different laboratories and their test reports are awaited,” Setia said.
A total of 13 samples were taken, out of which two were soil samples and the rest were water samples from inside the liquor unit and from different villages, Setia added.
The samples have been sent to three different laboratories – Sri Ram Laboratory in Patiala; Sophisticated Analytical Instrument Laboratory, Patiala (water testing laboratory); and CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow.
For the uninitiated, CSIR stands for Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
“Our officials were present in the laboratories when the samples were opened. The entire process of opening the samples was videographed. We had also insisted the committee members of Sanjha Morcha Zira to visit the laboratories along with our team members, but none of them came. But we had tried to engage them as much as possible during our survey in the 44 villages around the liquor factory,” said Setia.
As many as 44 villages around Mansurwal village were surveyed to study the impact of the liquor unit on human health, while around six villages were surveyed to assess the impact on animal health and soil fertility, sources said. The survey was launched on December 23. The physical survey in the villages was completed by January 7. Now, the report is being compiled. “We are expecting the report to be completed by this weekend or at the start of next week,” Setia said.
He said the report will be read out loud near the dharna site and its copies will also be pasted at the protest venue. “Action will be taken according to the content of the report,” he added.
It may be noted that out of the four government committees formed, one was to study the impact on human health, another to assess its effect on animal health, third panel was constituted to study the impact on soil fertility, while the fourth committee was assigned the job of verifying whether proper public hearing was done before launching this liquor unit.
The liquor factory was started in 2007 during the SAD-BJP regime and it has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. Sanjha Morcha Zira members – who are leading the ongoing dharna – have been alleging that public hearing wasn’t done of villages close to the liquor unit.
The liquor factory, according to protesting villagers, is polluting underground water in several villages in the area, apart from causing air pollution. The protesters also want that the liquor unit should be shut down permanently.
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