Besides dyeing & electroplating units, city has ‘hosts of other hazardous factories’

Ludhiana: Even though the exact cause of Giaspura gas leak tragedy is yet to be ascertained, agencies carrying out investigation primarily suspect dyeing and electroplating factories of discharging some chemical into the sewerage lines that led to this disaster. However there are host of other types of factories located in Ludhiana besides dyeing and electroplating units which too deal with hazardous chemicals. Such units not only use harmful chemicals and agents, but they generate harmful waste in form of liquid and solid during post-production processes.
According to representatives of electroplating and dyeing industry, they should not be seen with eye of suspicion amid presence of other category of polluting industries.

Rajan Gupta, vice-president of Ludhiana Electroplaters Association (LEA), said, “It is very unfortunate that despite being highly compliant in regards to environmental norms, the electroplating sector is always tagged as the most polluting industries of Ludhiana and Punjab. In the Giaspura tragedy too, fingers were being pointed at the electroplating industry without thinking about the ground reality that chemicals used by the electroplating are in no way capable to produce such harmful gas. Industries which cause water and other types of pollution also include those into soap manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, plastic products manufacturing, pharmaceutical manufacturing and paint manufacturing. These industries use and discharge very harmful chemicals in their production.”
Vinod Thapar, chairman of Apparel Technology and Common Facilitation Centre, said, “Ever since the Giaspura gas leak tragedy occurred, fingers were being pointed at the dyeing industry without even verifying the fact that there is not even a single registered dyeing unit in that area. As far as the dyeing industry in Ludhiana is concerned, only 150 to 175 units are left which is just a fraction of the units of non-dyeing and highly-polluting industries. At present there is not even a single dyeing unit in Ludhiana which is operating without consent from the authorities or which does not have in-house provision for treating its water in effluent treatment plant or access to the common effluent treatment plant.”
Thapar said, “Against a handful of dyeing units which are complying with norms, there are thousands of non-dyeing units which do labour job involving several harmful processes like washing and calendering, powder coating, smelting, heat treatment etc and these not only use very toxic and dangerous chemicals, but also generate hazardous waste. But they are never blamed for any kind of pollution and it is the dyeing industry which is crowned as the biggest villain for spreading pollution.”