The Pioneer 19.08.2010
Polluted water a bane for Gzb residents
SP SINGH | GHAZIABAD
Ghaziabad residents are being forced to consume polluted water, as several attempts to improve the quality have proved futile and the municipal corporation has shut down three of its tubewells. "We have brought this problem to the Government's notice on several occasions, but due to the Pollution Control Board's apathy no action has been initiated against the industrial units that are polluting underground water through digging reverse boring to dump their effluents in the underground water," said Col Tejendra Pal Singh Tyagi, president of the RWA Federation of Ghaziabad.
After finding the chromium percentage to be at least 10 times more than the permissible limit, the Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation shut down its tubewell situated in C block park of Lohia Nagar.
The tubewell in Sanjay Gita Park has already been closed after excess amount of chromium was found in the water. After finding such hazardous chemicals, the then District Magistrate formed a committee to find the polluting units which comprised members from industrial units also. The committee recommended to increase water harvesting units in the area and to drain out the entire underground water by running closed tubewells thoroughly. But those recommendations could not be complied with due to Government apathy.
Finally the local industrial units dug another tubewell in Vinoba Bhave Park and handed it over to the Municipal Corporation after it tested 'OK' on August 19, 2006. But in the latest test conducted by the Municipal Corporation at the National Test House it was found that the chromium percentage in the latest tubewell had also gone up and finally the Corporation had to close down this tubewell also.
The entire trans-Hindon area is facing an acute water shortage due to this. In the past four industrial units were found to be polluting underground water. These units were engaged in dyeing and nickel plating work, due to which the underground water had turned red in the area. Besides, many industrial units from Delhi which set up shop in Ghaziabad, after the Supreme Court order their shifting added to the pollution of underground water, Tyagi said while speaking to The Pioneer.
"At this stage 18 tubewells at Tila-Mode are feeding the entire trans-Hindon area covering a 12-km distance. The underground water in the entire trans-Hindon is not fit for drinking. Residents are forced to buy mineral water and when water supply is stopped from these tubewells a heavy chunk of the over five lakh population is badly affected," added Tyagi.
"No measures are being adopted to improve the water quality. Not only industrial units, even commercial and educational institutes are dumping their garbage through boring into underground water," alleged Tyagi.
