Gujarat environmentalists seek chemical emergency in Vadodara industry cluster, cite high level of water pollution

Two top environmentalists from Gujarat have revealed that a recent joint visit of Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) officials in Vadodara’s industrial region has found the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 890 to 1,022 mg per litre of water in channels which are supposed to carry treated, against the maximum norm of 250 mg per litre.
Pointing out that the latest tests wree carried out between November 21 and 23, 2016 at a village Vedach situated in Bharuch district after the channel passes through 24 villages in Vadodara district, senior environmentalists Rohit Prajapati and Krishnakant have alleged that the high level of pollution in water in the 55.6 km long effluent channel of the Effluent Channel Project (ECP) in Vadodara suggests that ECP is “not able to meet the norms since many years.”
Chemical oxygen demand (COD) test is used as a useful measure the amount of organic pollutants in surface water, including wastewater to ascertain of the water quality. It is expressed in milligrams per liter (mg per litre), which indicates the mass of oxygen consumed per liter of solution.
Asking Government of India to declare chemical emergency for ECP industrial cluster of Vadodara district, even as cancelling consolidated consent and authorization of the Vadodara Envior Channel Limited, responsible for ECP, the environmentalists have also sought cancellation of environment clearance of all the defaulting polluting industries of the ECP industrial cluster of Vadodara District.
In a letter to the secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of India, the environmentalists have said, the ECP channel passes through 24 villages and prime agricultural land, which is known as the vegetable basket of Gujarat.
Commissioned in 1983 to carry treated industrial effluent from industries near Vadodara to estuary of River Mahi, Gulf of Khambhat, the environmentalists say, the channel carries the effluent of Nandesari Industrial Estate and Vadodara Industrial Complex, apart from a number of polluting industries started coming up on along both side of ECP.
“Since 2004 the villages around the ECP channel have experienced ground water contamination at alarming rates”, they say, adding, “The pollution began because of the seepage, leaching, leaking and overflowing of effluent from the channel and later from illegal untreated effluent discharged by number of polluting industries.”
Pointing out that there have been several investigations conducted by CPCB and GPCB, and other agencies appointed by the concerned authorities, they say, the latest in the series of indictments is “Ground Water Pollution In Luna, Dudhawada, Piludara Area Near Vadodara, Gujarat”, released in July 2016, which followed “Report On Effluent Conveyance System for Nandesari Industrial Area And Industries Located Near Vadodara, Gujarat” of February 2010.
“Nobody, neither even GPCB nor industrialists, have denied that the groundwater is severely contaminated and contamination is spreading in different areas and has reached irreversible level because of industrial activities”, environmentalists contend adding, investigations reveal that “almost all wells and bore wells were contaminated.”

Citing a study in Luna Village conducted in May 2015, they say, it “prima facie proved that its ground water is severely contaminated and contamination is spreading”, adding, “In April 2015 another investigation was conducted by GPCB in Dudhwala village of Vadodara district and in villages Piludara and Vedach of Bharuch district, which illustrated the fact that the bore wells of even these villages too are severely contaminated.”

Comments

Irrational? Basis for fear among Hindus about being 'swamped' by Muslims

I was amused while reading an article titled "Ham Paanch, Hamare Pachees", shared on Facebook, by well-known policy analyst Mohan Guruswamy, an alumnus of the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Guruswamy, who has also worked as an advisor to the Finance Minister with the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, seeks to probe, as he himself states, "the supposed Muslim attitude to family planning"—a theme that was invoked by Narendra Modi as Gujarat Chief Minister ahead of the December 2002 assembly polls.

Why's Australian crackdown rattling Indian students? Whopping 25% fake visa applications

This is what happened several months ago. A teenager living in the housing society where I reside was sent to Australia to study at a university in Sydney with much fanfare. The parents, whom I often met as part of a group, would tell us how easily the boy got his admission with the help of "some well-meaning friends," adding that they had obtained an education loan to ensure he could study at a graduate school.

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

Gujarat slips in India Justice Report 2025: From model state to mid-table performer

Overall ranking in IJR reports The latest India Justice Report (IJR), prepared by legal experts with the backing of several civil society organisations and aimed at ranking the capacity of states to deliver justice, has found Gujarat—considered by India's rulers as a model state for others to follow—slipping to the 11th position from fourth in 2022.

Punishing senior citizens? Flipkart, Shopsy stop Cash on Delivery in Ahmedabad!

The other day, someone close to me attempted to order some goodies on Flipkart and its subsidiary Shopsy. After preparing a long list of items, this person, as usual, opted for the Cash on Delivery (popularly known as COD) option, as this senior citizen isn't very familiar with online prepaid payment methods like UPI, credit or debit cards, or online bank transfers through websites. In fact, she is hesitant to make online payments, fearing, "I may make a mistake," she explained, adding, "I read a lot about online frauds, so I always choose COD as it's safe. I have no knowledge of how to prepay online."

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Of lingering shadow of Haren Pandya's murder during Modi's Gujarat days

Sunita Williams’ return to Earth has, ironically, reopened an old wound: the mysterious murder of her first cousin, the popular BJP leader Haren Pandya, in 2003. Initially a supporter of Narendra Modi, Haren turned against him, not sparing any opportunity to do things that would embarrass Modi. Social media and some online news portals, including The Wire , are abuzz with how Modi’s recent invitation to Sunita to visit India comes against the backdrop of how he, as Gujarat’s chief minister, didn’t care to offer any official protocol support during her 2007 visit to Gujarat.

Area set aside in Ahmedabad for PM's affordable housing scheme 'has gone to big builders'

Following my article on affordable housing in Counterview, which quoted a top real estate consultant, I was informed that affordable housing—a scheme introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—has deviated from its original intent. A former senior bureaucrat, whom I used to meet during my Sachivalaya days, told me that an entire area in Ahmedabad, designated for the scheme, has been used to construct costly houses instead.

Just 5% Gujarat Dalit households 'recognise' social reformers who inspired Ambedkar

An interesting survey conducted across 22 districts and 32 villages in Gujarat sheds light on the representation of key social reformers in Dalit households. It suggests that while Dr. B.R. Ambedkar's photo was displayed in a majority of homes, images of Lord Buddha and the 19th-century reformist couple, Savitribai Phule and Jyotiba Phule, were not as commonly represented.

Search This Blog