Parvati Chaudhary from Nakoda village lives just about a hundred metres from the local cement factory.Two weeks ago,her 50-yearold husband died of chronic respiratory distress.She alleges that he suffered from asthma for over six years due to exposure to the dust from the plant. Chaudhary is party to a public interest litigation filed by her neighbour Samuel Sundar against the cement company for pollution caused by its new unit.Chandrapur goes into a brand new decade hacking and coughing from the effects of the past.It claims to suffer from many chronic ailments.The sharp-eyed and what big business calls the troublemakerssay its because the town is in a mineral-rich region.It is home to Maharashtras only super thermal power station,coal and limestone mines and sponge iron and cement plants.Its air is so polluted a thick smog routinely reduces visibility to just a few feet every morning and evening.The factories say theyre not to blame,its the townsfolk themselvesevery winter,almost every home burns coal in an open angeethi or local burner.
The smoke from the domestic coal burners may be a factor.But what of harmful gases such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide,emitted from industrial units.Till now,theres no reliable data on groundwater pollutants but experts say that fluoride from the limestone mines is affecting the water quality.Dr Mahesh Gulwade and Dr Ashok Wasalwar,joint secretaries of the state-level and local chapters respectively of the Indian Medical Association,claim that at least 10% of their patients now suffer from respiratory diseases such as asthma,upper and lower respiratory tract infection,bronchitis,pneumonia,intestinal diseases,skin and eye diseases and even lung cancer.
Paediatrician Dr Gopal Mundhada is president of the Chandrapur Bachao Sangharsh Samiti and points to the most obvious indicator of severe water pollutionfish are dying in the Wardha and Erai rivers near the city.Industries (707 in all) either do not run effluent treatment plants and the electrostatic precipitators or run them only for a few hours to save on electricity bills.They dump effluents in the river.The Pollution Control Board does nothing beyond seizing their bank guarantees,ranging between Rs 1 and Rs 10 lakh,which is peanuts looking at their turnover worth many crores, he says.Environmentalist Bandu Dhotre recalls how even NASA has warned of the possibility of acid rain in Chandrapur district due to rising pollution levels.But the government is still allowing new industries in.
Suresh Chopne,an environmental activist and president of Green Planet Society points to a 2006 study conducted by the zilla parishad,which revealed that 10% of 23,000 screened persons suffered from respiratory disease.The break-up was as follows:
19% asthma
20% bronchitis
17% tuberculosis
19% acute respiratory distress.
There has been no comprehensive follow-up study ever since.Chopne got hold of this information using the Right To Information Act.But he is not triumphant,just downcast.Things wont change until the local and regional leadership takes the issue seriously, he warns gloomily.