Two tankers caught dumping untreated effluents in Panipat
A joint team of the Chief Minister’s flying squad (CMFS) and the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) during a surprise inspection caught two tractor-tankers filled with untreated chemical effluents, reportedly on their way to discharge it into an open drain near Chhajpur village on Wednesday night.
The HSPCB collected samples on the spot and served a show-cause notice on the factory concerned for bypassing industrial effluents without treatment. According to available information, acting on complaints regarding the discharge of untreated industrial effluents directly into drains via tractor-tankers by industries in Bapoli and adjoining areas, the joint team conducted a surprise inspection near Kurar village.
The team reached the Wool India factory and intercepted a tractor-tanker exiting the premises. The tanker was filled with red-coloured chemical water, sources said.
The driver, identified as Rahul from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh, admitted to the team that he had been discharging red-coloured chemical effluents into a drain near Chhajpur village daily after filling it from the factory in Kurar area. Rahul failed to produce valid documents for the tractor or a driving licence.
The team also inspected another tractor-tanker parked near the effluents treatment plant (ETP) on the premises and found it too filled with coloured chemical water. Notably, the tractor bore no registration number plate, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the factory owner arrived at the site and the HSPCB team collected further samples from the tractor-tankers.
Bhupender Singh Chahal, Regional Officer, HSPCB, said that samples had been collected from both tankers and a show-cause notice had been issued to Bull India Private Limited for violating environmental norms by bypassing untreated industrial effluents.
The factory owners have been directed to respond within 15 days, explaining why untreated effluents is being routed through tractor-tankers, Chahal added.
Although an effluents treatment plant is installed at the factory, its operational status will be verified, Chahal stated.
Notably, this is not the first instance of tankers being used to dispose of untreated effluent into local drains by industries in the area. Previously, the department had apprehended seven tractor-tankers allegedly discharging untreated effluents into Drain Number 2 and other open drains along the main roads in Sanoli and Bapoli areas, the sources said.
Haryana Tribune