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| Polluted water from broken pipeline invades a farmland |
The pipeline carrying industrial wastewater to the Gulf of Khambhat from Jhagadia industrial estate in Bharuch district has been found to have damaged for the eighth time over the last one and a half months. The crack, says a local environmental organisation, has occurred at Hansot, endangering agricultural farms.
According to Salim Patel of the Prakruti Sukasha Mandal, the damage suggests the material used for manufacturing the pipeline, laid down about a decade ago, was of poor quality, yet it was allowed right to use by Gujarat authorities. The crack has taken place, he added, despite the fact that its carrying capacity is 60 MLD, has been permitted 35 MLD, but it actually carries just about 15 to 20 MLD of wastewater.
Pointing out that a similar pipeline from Ankaleshwar-Panoli industrial area, laid down about the same time, is running normally at 40 MLD capacity, Patel said, the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) should review the situation and find out whether the effluent oozing out of the damaged pipeline is harming agricultural farms, and if norms are being followed while discharging it into the sea.
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