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Ludhiana police, PPCB conduct check at chemical godown in Giaspura
According to officials from the police department, the area residents had raised concerns about the inconvenience caused by the storage of chemicals and acids in the warehouse
In response to the complaints lodged by shopkeepers and residents of Laxman Nagar near the 33-foot road in Giaspura, where 11 people died following a gas leak, teams from the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and police conducted an inspection of a chemical godown on Friday and found huge quantity of chemicals stored in it.
According to officials from the police department, the area residents had raised concerns about the inconvenience caused by the storage of chemicals and acids in the warehouse.
As a result, the police and PPCB officials seized the owner’s documents and forwarded them to the relevant authorities for verification. During the check, the officials found substantial quantity of chemicals stored in the warehouse.
Assistant commissioner of police (industrial area), Sandeep Vadera, said that they have conducted the inspection in response to complaints from nearby shopkeepers and residents.
“Upon reviewing the documents and licenses of the shop, we have communicated in writing to the health department, urging them to take appropriate action against the shop owner if any irregularities are found,” Vadera said.
He said that the godown owner has produced some documents such as GST number and licence from food and supply department. The documents are being verified from the concerned departments.
The concerned department will check the type of chemicals stored in the unit and whether the unit owner was allowed to store the same or not, he said.
Sandeep Behal, chief engineer of PPCB, stated that the premises are used as a godown and not involved in industrial or manufacturing activities. However, the storage of acids requires permission from the health department under the Poison Act.
Kulwinder Singh, zonal licensing authority, stated that previously, the chemical licence was issued by the health department, but since 2014, the permission for the same has been granted by the deputy commissioner. The concerned shop owner possessed a licence as they had checked the document from the deputy commissioner office, he said.
Naresh Kumar, owner of the godown said that the godown was established in the area around 10 years ago when the area was not residential. Now with time people have started residing here.
He said that he has all the required documents and he had produced the same before the police.
