Smoky flavour is order of the day

Surat: For the last 10 years, 45-year-old Jayshree Ghaswala has not opened the kitchen window of her house in Rustompura. It faces the boiler section of a nearby textile mill, which is barely few metres away. Some years ago, her aged mother-in-law developed respiratory disease and died in 2016.
“Living in this society is a hell. You can’t stand on the terrace as the black ash from the mill would cover the entire area in no time,” laments Jayshree, who lives in Shraddha Saburi Row House.

Surat, known for diamonds and flyovers, is aiming to become India’s first Smart City. But there is a dark side literally to its famed textile industry too.

Jayshree’s misery is shared by nearly 15,000 people living in residential societies surrounding Krishnaram Dyeing and Printing Mill. Thick smoke billowing from the chimneys settles on their building terraces, blackens walls of their houses everyday. Some societies are located so close to the mills that any untoward incident such as fire could result in a major calamity.

Another resident Raju Bhagat said, “There are many in our society suffering from pulmonary disease. We have approached the local authorities and politicians several times to solve this problem, but no concrete steps have been taken.”

It’s not only the Walled City of Rustompura and Salabatpura, but the northern part, too, that has nearly 22 mills. On both sides of the railway track, nearly 2 lakh people suffer the menace of black ash and pollution daily.

The textile mills in diamond hubs of Varachha and Katargam as well as Sumul Dairy Road are causing severe misery to daily workers. Talking to TOI, regional chairman of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) Dinesh Navadiya said, “The textile mills have been a real nuisance in the residential areas of Varachha, Katargam and Sumul Dairy road. Tens of thousands of residents are living in highly polluted environment for many years, but the authorities are not concerned.”

In 2015-16, the Surat Diamond Association (SDA) had started a campaign against these mills by taking letters from the chairmen of over 150 affected societies. The letters were sent to the Gujarat Pollution Control Board, but to no avail.

BJP MLA of Surat (north) Kantil Balar told TOI that all textile mills in these areas will have to shift very soon as the development plan (DP) is likely to be announced in the next six months. “The entire area will be declared as a residential zone,” he said.

Balar accused the mill owners of using cheap quality lignite and other material as fuel, which is taking a heavy toll on people’s health.