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Case study on molasses spill in Punjab
- 1. By- Ritisha Gupta Devyani Charan Khushboo H. Bhatia
- 2. Hindustan Times- Gurdaspur sugar mill sealed, fined Rs 25 lakh over deaths of fish. The Times of India- Farmers from Kiri Afgana seek restarting of Chadha Sugar Mill. The DNA-Molasses leak: Punjab Pollution Control board issues notice to Chadha Sugar mill over dead fish. Indian Express- Molasses spills from Gurdaspur sugar mill into Beas, villagers protest. The Print-Punjab sugar mill ‘responsible’ for Beas river pollution disaster fined Rs 5 crore.
- 4. A massive spillage of 10000 litres of molasses from Chadha sugar mill in gurdaspur district into the river Beas was witnessed o 16th may 2018. Molasses is a byproduct of sugarcane processing. It has organic and nutritional values, therefore preserved. As the molasses, a thick viscous black fluid, flowed into the river, it turned water black and killed marine life almost instantly. Villagers contacted forest officials of Beas town who lodged a police complaint against unidentified persons for causing damage to the wildlife. Environment minister O.P.SONI ordered the sealing of the mill.
- 6. It appears the incident occurred due to a blast in the furnace in which the molasses were stored. The release of molasses brought down the oxygen level in the river leading to the death of the fish on a large scale. A molasses tank has to be equipped with facilities for re-circulation and pumping the molasses from one storage tank to another. It should have an air injection system and adequate ventilation on the roof top. The extra molasses was stored in the two tanks, of 1.35 lakh kiloletres each,which were actually constructed to store the treated effluent.
- 7. According to the sources, the sugar mill had installed a water treatment plant but it rarely uses it. That is the reason why they are discharging the pollutants in the river. Earlier they used to discharge he effluents at night. But now they have become so fearless that they are discharging it at day. The companies may get profit but that’s killing our surroundings.
- 9. Rakesh sharma, the cane manager at the CHADHA SUGAR MILL, said that they were forced to crush sugarcane beyond the provided capacity by the govt. “The molasses did not contain any harmful element. The byproduct is used to prepare edible items. I don’t know how the fish died,” he said. “We didn’t release any waste matter into the river,” he added. PPBC rejected this claim that it was forced to store molasses in underground tanks. “Any pressure to crush more sugarcane does not justify the management’s decision to store additional molasses in an unscientific manner,’’ said PPBC chairman Kahan singh pannu.
- 10. The molasses mixed with the water, which resulted in the increase in B.O.D. (Biological Oxygen Demand). This resulted in the following destruction: 1. Death of nearly 8 to 10 variety of fishes like catfish and common carp. 2. The water was contaminated which was used as drinking water in various districts such as Faridkot, Muktsar, and Fazilka. 3. This contaminated water entered Rajasthan through The Indira Gandhi canal which supplies water Hanumangarh, Sriganganagar, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and other districts in north and western region. 4. Farmers were in shock as highly polluted water, carrying with it dead fish emanating stench, entered their fields. 5. “An action plan in this regard shall be prepared by departments of forest, wildlife, and water resources, PPCB, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (Gadvasu), Ludhiana.” This plan is to be spread over five years so that sustainable results can be achieved, according to the orders.
- 11. An initiative was taken by the government to dilute the river. 11,000 cusecs of water was released from the Pong dam and 2,000 cusecs from the Ranjit Sagar Dam. Ban on selling of the dead fishes. People from the various districts like Fadikot, Muktsar and Fazilka were asked not to drink the canal based water. Officials also stopped the working of the unit of Adie Boroswon Breweries Private Limited until it makes its effluent-treatment plan fully operational.
- 12. The wildlife department has filed a petition in the Batala court under the relevant provisions of the wildlife act, seeking action against the sugar mill owner for the leakage. PPBC fined the mill management Rs 5 crore. The sugar mill which was shut down on 17th may 2018, will remain closed, said PPBC order issued. Punjab’s environment minister O.P Soni has suspended the executive officer Kuldeep singh and SDO Amritpal singh chahal of regional environment office at Batala. Soni has said these officers did not properly monitor the area of Kirri Afghana, which falls in their jurisdiction, which is why the incident of molasses spillover has occurred from Chadha sugar mills.
- 13. An environment catastrophe has occurred. The Beas is the only living river of Punjab and any damage to this river has to be viewed very seriously. The ecological degradation will take years to regenerate. The mill management should have paid more attention to the mill’s installation and security as it is situated right next to the river bed which is an environmentally sensitive zone.