3,000 Sachin GIDC units brace for water scarcity

Surat: Over 3,000 industries, including textile units, in Sachin GIDC are bracing to face severe water shortage due to negligence of office-bearers of Sachin Industrial Cooperative Society (SICS). The lake inside the GIDC is now unable to hold water due to damage to LDPE plastic sheet used for pond lining.
The plastic sheet was damaged during deepening of the pond by JCB machines in the last month. The dredging of the lake was taken up at a cost of Rs1 crore by a few office-bearers of the industrial society without seeking any technical assistance from experts.
Members of the society have written to GIDC managing director for instituting an independent inquiry into the case and initiate action against the office-bearers. An officer of Sachin Notified Area Authority said, “The dredging of the lake was done to hold more water. However, some members have claimed that the LDPE plastic film has got damaged. We are checking the claim made by the members.”
Units in Sachin GIDC depend on irrigation department for supply of water. This time around, the irrigation canal supplying water to the industrial units in Sachin GIDC remained dry due to water shortage in Ukai dam. Thus, the industrial units were forced to get their daily requirement of water through private water tankers.
An estimated 3,500 tankers would bring water to the GIDC daily. Each tanker costs anything between Rs800 and Rs1,200. Some SICS members were involved in a racket of collecting illegal fine from tanker owners in the name of leakage. These SICS members along with security personnel would keep an eye on leaking tankers to collect fine. The leaking tanker owners were made to pay fine of Rs10,000 and the SICS members collected Rs1.5 crore this way in the past six months, sources said.
Mayur Golwala, member of SICS, said, “The office-bearers of the industrial society should have followed the rules before carrying out dredging exercise in the lake. A tender should have been invited for dredging. Expert dredging firms would have taken care of LDPE plastic film. Because of the damage to LDPE plastic sheet, the lake will not be able to hold water as it will percolate into the earth. This will create serious water issues for the industries.”